1    / 

1 

3 

« 

JO 

'i*^ 

IE 

i5?          »-3 

Q. 

V 

*^     ^ 

O 

^ 

^ 

^            ^ 

(D 

C 

^            p 

bfl 

**^                  r^ 

< 

^                 § 

3 

|Zi 

E 

1        .       b 

W                M 

«j 

•^     .5     -s 

'       ^              P5 

(/) 

:s    ^    1 

■*^              P^ 

wl 

^   ^  ^ 

^*:i 

s 

Ck 

JQ 

^ 

-o 

^ 

0) 
"c 

vL 

CD 

J^ 

CO 

^ 

CL 

1 

MEMOIR,  &c. 


F/:(irfji.'td lu  ,I.Sar/am 


'M,\>fo  (i^JJUi'JiULijitjK.'^    w\y-:^)"'^)'^n^'i:,  jiu.  jw„ 


MEMOIR 


REV.  CHARLES   NISBET,  D.D. 


LATE  PRESIDENT  OF 


DICKINSON  COLLEGE,  CARLISLE. 


,^: 


BY  SAMUEL 'MILLER,  D.D. 

PROFESSOR  IN  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMIXARY, 
PRINCETON,  NEW  JERSET. 


NEW    YORK: 

PUBLISHED   BY  ROBERT  CARTER, 

58  Canal  Street. 

ISIO. 


Enteked,  according  to  the  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1840,  by 
Samuel  Miller,  D.D.,  in  the  ofiice  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District 
Court  for  the  District  of  New  Jersey. 


PRINTED  Br  JOim  nORATlT, 
PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


TO  THE 

SURVIVING  RELATIVES 

OF  THE  VENERABLE  MAN  WHOSE  HISTORY  AND 

CHARACTER  ARE  HERE  ATTEMPTED  ; 

AND  TO  ALL  THE 

ADMIRERS  OF  HIS  PIETY,  GENIUS,  WIT,  AND 

PROFOUND  ERUDITION, 

IN  BOTH  HEMISPHERES, 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY  INSCRIBED, 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Princeton,  August  20,  1840, 


* 


PaiHCETOIT 

theologiojl 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 

His  birth.  —  Early  education.  —  Course  in 
the  University  of  Edinburgh.  —  Entrance 
on  the  study  of  Theology. — License  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  —  Stated  supply  in  the 
Gorbals  of  Glasgow.  —  Call  to  Montrose. 
—  Ordination.  —  Marriage.  —  Epithala- 
mium  Montr osi anum .  —  Thought  of  as 
President  of  Princeton  College.  —  His  ac- 
knowledged learning. — His  extensive  lite- 
rary and  social  connections 13 

CHAPTER  n. 

State  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  when  Mr, 
Nisbet  entered  her  ministry.  —  He  attaches 
himself  immediately  and  inviolably  to  the 
Orthodox  party. — Specimens  of  his  speeches 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church. — 
His  correspondence  with  the  Countess  of 
Huntingdon.  —  His  Review  of  the  System 
of  Methodism.— Character  of  that  Review.     29 


Vm  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 

His  ministry  in  Scotland  continued^  —  His 
uniform  finendliness  to  Civil  and  Religious 
Liberty.  —  He  is  friendly  to  the  cause  of 
the  Jlmerican  Colonies  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary contest.  —  Specimen  of  his  preach- 
ing on  a  Fast  day  during  the  *Bmcrican 
war. — His  opposition  to  the  Patronage 
Jict .  —  His  correspondence  with  the  Coun- 
tess of  Lev  en  ^  and  with  the  Earl  of  Buchan,     74 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Establishment  of  Dickinson  College. — Dr, 
Nisbet  chosen  the  first  President.  —  Co?'- 
respondence  with  the  Countess  of  Lev  en  in 
relation  to  this  appointment .  —  t/Jlso  ivith 
Dr.  Rush  and  the  Trustees.  —  ^nd  with 
the  Earl  of  Buchan.  —  He  finally  accepts 
the  appointment,  and  sails  for  the  United 
States. — Jirrival  at  Philadelphia.      .     .     100 

CHAPTER  V. 

Dr,  Nisbet  spends  a  few  days  in  Philadelphia. 
—  Pays  a  short  visit  to  Dr.  Witherspoon 
at  Princeton.  —  Sets  out  for  Carlisle^  — 


CONTENTS.  IX 

Pleasant  arrival  there,  —  Inauguration 
in  his  office. —  Writes  to  the  Earl  of  Bu- 
chan,  an  account  of  his  voyage,  and  sit ua^ 
Hon. — Becomes  tediously  a7id  dangerous- 
ly sick.  —  Is  discouraged.  —  Resigns  his  of- 
fice and  determines  to  return  to  Scotland. 

—  But  soon  recovers.  —  h  re-elected  to  the 
Presidentship,  and  again  accepts  it.  — «^c- 
count  of  the  Lectures  and  Labours  tvhich 
he  undertook  in^the  discharge  of  the  duties 
of  his  office.  —  Embarrassments  and  diffi- 
culties of  the  College.  —  Correspondence 
with  the  Earl  of  Buchan — with  the  Rev. 
James  Paton — ivith  the  Countess  of  Lev  en 
and  with  Dr.  Beat  tie.  — Marriage  of  his 
eldest  Daughter 137 

CHx\PTER  VI. 

The  autho7'''s first  interview  with  Dr.  Nisbet. 

—  His  impressions  from  that  interview.  — 
Remarks  on  the  difference  between  know- 
ledge acquired  by  Books,  and  by  oral  com- 
munication. —  Dr.  Nisbefs  correspondence 
with  the  Countess  of  Lev  en.  — His  visit  to 
Governor  Dickinson.  —  Corresjjondence 
with  Dr.  Witherspoon  and  Dr.  Erskine.  — 
Marriage  of  his  younger  Daughter.  — 
Sentiments   and    conduct    respecting   the 


CONTENTS. 


French  Revolution, — Correspondence  with 
the  author  of  this  Memoir,  and  with  Dr. 
Paton  of  Scotland.  —  His  remarks  on  the 
Eighteenth  Century,     ...     *     .     .     .210 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Dr.  NisheVs  discouragements  in  his  official 
.  station.  —  His  last  illness  and  death.  — 
Extracts  from  the  Sermon  preached  on  oc- 
casion of  his  funeral.  — Rosses  Latin  Ode 
to  his  rnemor I/.— Inscription  on  his  Tomb.— 
Description  of  his  Person.  — His  Library, 
and  the  disposition  inade  of  it.  —  His  chil- 
dren and  grand  children.  —  The  course  of 
Dickinson  College  after  his  decease.       .     .  282 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

His  general  character.  —  Letter  of  the  Rev. 
President  Green.  — Letter  of  the  Rev.  Pre- 
sident Brown.  —  Letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Martin.  —  Character  of  his  intellectual 
powers. —  His  erudition. —  His  extraordi- 
nary knowledge  of  Languages.—  His  cha- 
racter as  a  Divine— as  a  Preacher — as  an 
Author  —  as  President  of  a  College  —  as  a 
Wit.  —  Closing  remarks 305 


ERRATA. 


P.  242,  1.  26,  for  r easonahle  read  seasonable. 

P.  257,  1.  2^,  for  Dr^  read  Mr. 

P.  267, 1.  3,  dele  Rev.  Mr,  Miller,  N.  Y. 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.   NISBET,   &c. 


CHAPTER    I. 

His  Early  Life. 

The  subject  of  the  following  Memoir  was  one  of 
those  great  and  good  men,  who  have  been  called 
from  spheres  of  usefulness  and  honour  in  Europe,  to 
enrich  the  literature,  and  adorn  the  Church  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  And  although,  in  his  case,  our 
country  has  been  culpably  tardy  in  paying  her  debt 
of  respect  and  gratitude;  yet  that  debt  has  been  deep- 
ly felt,  and  often  acknowledged;  and  if  the  formality 
of  making  a  permanent  record  of  it  has  been  unduly 
postponed,  the  result  has  shown  that  the  lapse  of  time, 
instead  of  consigning  an  elevated  character,  and  im- 
portant services  to  forgetfulness,  has  rather  served  to 
deepen  the  impression  of  them,  and  to  give  a  testimo- 
nial of  their  value  rather  strengthened  than  weakened 
by  being  delayed. 

By  this  delay,  however,  a  serious  disadvantage  has 
been  incurred.  Almost  all  the  contemporaries  of  the 
deceased  have  passed  from  the  stage;  and,  of  course, 
a  large  part  of  that  information  concerning  his  early 
life  which  might  have  been  easily  obtained  from  his 
2 


14  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

native  country,  thirty  years  ago,  is  now  irrecoverabljr 
lost.      But  even  w^ith  regard  to  this  loss,  there  are 
counterbalancing    considerations.     Time    has   been 
left  for  the  first  fervour  of  feeling  on  the  departure 
of  an  eminent  man  to  subside.     His  character  is  now 
viewed  with  the  calmness  and  impartiality  of  a  long 
and  leisurely  retrospect.    The  statement  and  portrait 
about  to  be  presented  are  not  drawn  under  the  pain- 
ful and  exciting  impression  of  a  recent  bereavements 
There  has  been  time  to  consult  the  award  of  faith- 
ful public  suffrage.     Perhaps  the  most  candid   and 
impartial,  if  not  the  most  feeling  and  racy  biographi- 
cal sketches,  are  those  which  have  been  formed  many 
years  after  their  subjects  have  passed  from  the  stage 
of  action.     The  erection  of  this  humble  memorial  is 
reserved  for  one  who  knew  the  subject  of  it  well,  who 
venerates  his  memory;  and  who   considers   it  as  an 
honour  to  contribute  any  thing  towards  embalming 
the  memory  of  so  distinguished  and  worthy  a  man. 

Charles  Nisbet  was  born  in  Haddington,  in 
Scotland,  on  the  21st  day  of  January,  A,  D.  1736. 
He  was  the  third  son  of  JVilliam  Nisbet,  and  Jili- 
son,  his  wife,  who,  for  many  years,  resided  in  that 
place.  His  father  had  two  other  children  besides 
Charles;  one  elder  and  the  other  younger.  The  el- 
der was  Andrew,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Andrew  Nis- 
bet, pastor  of  the  parish  of  Garvald,  in  the  Presbyte- 
ry of  Haddington,  w^ho  never  married,  and  who  died 
several  years  before  his  brother  Charles.  The  young- 
er son  was  William,  who  devoted  himself  to  mercan- 
tile pursuits,  and  who  died  about  the  time  that  Charles 
came  to  this  country. 

Of  the  occupation  or  circumstances  of  his  Father 


HIS   EARLY    LIFE.  15 

little  IS  now  known,  excepting  that  they  were  not 
such  as  to  admit  of  his  sustaining  his  son  in  the  more 
advanced  stages  of  his  education,  when  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  leave  home,  the  advantages  of  which, 
nevertheless,  that  son  was  intent  on  enjoying.  Ac- 
cordingly he  remained  with  his  father  until  the  six- 
teenth year  of  his  age,  diligently  employed  in  study- 
ing the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  and  the  various 
elementary  branches  of  knowledge  which  are  consid- 
ered as  requisite  to  entering  the  university.  In  1752, 
he  entered  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  from 
this  time  he  never  more  received  from  his  father  any 
pecuniary  aid.  Such  was  his  thirst  for  knowledge, 
and  such  his  ardour  and  energy  of  character,  that 
immediately  on  going  to  Edinburgh,  he  made  en- 
gagements as  a  private  teacher,  which  enabled  him 
to  bear  all  the  expenses  of  his  College  course.  Even 
at  such  an  early  age  did  this  remarkable  youth  give 
that  evidence  of  accurate  scholarship,  dignity  of  de- 
meanor, and  capacity  for  instructing  others,  which 
gained  at  once  the  confidence  of  his  friends,  and  in- 
troduced him  to  the  means  of  independent  and  hon- 
ourable subsistence. 

How  rarely  is  it  that  young  men,  in  laying  the 
foundations  of  their  knowledge,  are  equally  wise,  or 
equally  successful.  A  great  majority  of  those  who 
pass  through  a  course  of  what  is  called  liberal  educa- 
tion, are  so  loose  and  careless  in  studying  the  ele- 
ments of  literature  and  science,  that  they  are  not  suf- 
ficiently grounded  in  any  one  branch  to  be  prepared 
for  successfully  teaching  it.  The  consequences  of 
this  negligence  are  unhappy  in  a  variety  of  ways. — 
When  the  foundations  of  knowledge  are  slightly  and 


16  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET^ 

superficially  laid,  the  superstructure  must  ever  par- 
take of  the  same  unsolid  and  insecure  character.  No 
one  was  ever  strong  in  any  branch  of  knowledge,  in 
the  elements  of  which  he  was  weak.  He  who  lays 
a  deep  and  thorough  foundation,  has  his  work  more 
than  half  done,  and  proceeds  at  every  step  afterwards 
with  more  ease,  with  more  expedition,  and  with 
more  firmness  of  advance.  In  this  case,  too,  the  stu- 
dent, if  in  straitened  circumstances,  or  if  suddenly  re- 
duced to  the  necessity  of  relying  on  his  own  efibrts, 
is  better  prepared  to  go  forth,  and  acquire,  in  the 
early  morning  and  evening,  by  instructing  others, 
what  will  sustain  him  the  remainder  of  his  time. 
This  was  the  wisdom  and  happiness  of  young  Nis- 
bet,  who,  in  the  outset  of  his  career,  gave  a  very 
decided  presage  of  that  scholarship  and  extensive 
erudition,  as  well  as  force  of  mind,  which  afterwards 
rendered  him  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his 
time. 

Of  the  general  character  of  young  Nisbet's  course 
in  the  University  no  record  now  remains.  The 
proofs,  however,  of  his  accurate  and  mature  scholar- 
ship are  so  many  and  unquestionable,  that  his  under- 
graduate career  must  have  been  not  only  exemplary 
but  highly  honourable.  He  was  graduated  in  the 
year  1754,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of  his  age.* 

Immediately  on  completing  his  course  in  the  Uni- 
versity, he  entered  the  Divinity  Hail  in  Edinburgh, 
as  a  student  of  Theology,  with  a  view  to  the  Gospel 

*  The  year  of  his  graduation  is  not  certainly  known.  But,  as  he 
is  said  to  have  been  six  years  in  the  Theological  Hall,  he  must 
either  have  been  graduated  in  the  year  above  mentioned,  or  have  enter- 
ed the  Theological  Hall  before  his  graduation,  which  is  not  probable* 


HIS    EARLY    LIFE.  17 

Ministry.  In  this  new  situation  he  supported  him- 
self by  an  engagement  as  Editor  of  a  popular  periodi- 
cal publication,  the  character  of  which,  while  he  con- 
tinued to  preside  over  it,  bore  ample  testimony  to 
his  intellectual  and  literary  resources.  Of  his  ap- 
pearance in  the  Divinity  Hall,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Mar- 
tin, of  Monimail,  a  respectable  contemporary  and  fel- 
low student,  bears  the  following  testimony.  ^' The 
first  time  that  I  distinguished  Dr.  Nisbet  was  in  the 
Divinity  Hall  at  Edinburgh.  Dr.  Hamilton,  our 
worthy  and  learned  Professor,  had  appointed  the 
impugning  and  defending  a  Thesis,  according  to 
mood  and  figure,  in  Latin;  The  Professor  was  an 
excellent  Latin  scholar  himself,  and  seemed  to  be  as 
much  at  his  ease  in  Latin  as  in  English.  The 
shrewdness  and  ability,  the  command  of  argument 
and  of  language  in  Mr.  Nisbet  struck  me  much." 

While  Mr.  Nisbet  was  a  student  in  the  Theologi- 
cal Hall,  his  private  papers  show  that  his  mind  was 
very  seriously  and  solemnly  exercised  with  respect 
to  divine  things.  On  the  10th  of  March,  1756,  he 
recorded  an  act  of  solemn  dedication  to  God,  drawn 
in  a  spirit  of  enlightened  and  ardent  devotion.  And 
on  the  ISth  of  April,  1759,  he  drew  up  another  pa- 
per, in  a  different  form,  but  of  similar  import;  both 
very  strikingly  evincing  that  while  he  was  diligent- 
ly engaged  in  studying  Theology  as  a  science,  he  was 
by  no  means  forgetful  of  its  practical  and  experimen- 
tal influence  on  his  own  heart  as  a  Christian. 

In  the  Divinity  Hall  he  continued  to  study,  ac- 
cording to  the  excellent  habit  of  his  country,  for  six 
years.     At  the  end  of  this  time,  on  the  24th  day  of 
September,  A.  D.  1760,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  the 
2* 


18  MEMOIR    OF   I>R.    NISBET. 

Gospel,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Edinburgh,   in   the 
twenty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Young  Nisbet,  in  the  course  of  his  education,  had 
become  early  and  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
late  Dr.  Witherspoon,  who  was  about  fourteen  years 
older  than  himself.  Under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  indeed,  some  of  his  studies,  especially 
that  of  the  French  language,  had  been  conducted. 
The  first  sermon  which  Mr.  Nisbet  preached  after  be- 
ing  licensed  was  in  the  pulpitof  his  friend,  then  settled 
in  Paisley,  a  flourishing  town  of  Scotland,  about  fifty 
miles  west  of  Edinburgh.  These  distinguished  men 
continued  to  be  affectionate  friends  until  the  death 
of  Dr.  Witherspoon,  in  1794.  And  it  is  not  at  all 
improbable  that  their  early  friendship  had  consider- 
able influence  in  inducing  Mr.  Nisbet  to  listen  to  an 
invitation  to  remove  to  the  United  States, 

Mr.  Nisbet's  first  engagement,  as  a  stated  preach- 
er, was  to  supply  a  church  in  the  Gorbals  of  Glas- 
gow, Here  he  remained  about  two  years.  The 
congregation  had  stipulated,  besides  paying  the  sala- 
ry mentioned  in  their  call,  to  furnish  him  with 
a  house.  This  stipulation,  however,  they  had  fail- 
ed of  fulfilling.  Though  their  young  preacher  was 
highly  acceptable  and  popular;  yet  as  he  had  no 
family,  and  a  domestic  residence  did  not  seem  necCvS- 
sary  for  him,  they  postponed  a  compliance  with  their 
engagement.  Receiving  a  call  to  another  Church,  he 
thought  it  his  duty  to  remove.  On  taking  leave  of 
the  congregation,  he  selected  as  a  text  for  his  farewell 
sermon,  Acts  xxviii.  30.  And  Paul  dwelt  two 
whole  years  in  his  own  hired  houses  and  received 
all  that  came  in  unto  him. 


HIS    EARLY    LIFE.  19 

The  call  referred  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph, 
was  from  the  church  of  Montrose,  a  large  and  flour- 
ishing town  on  the  east  coast  of  Scotland,  a  royal 
borough,  and  a  place  of  considerable  importance  both 
for  its  maritime  trade  and  its  valuable  manufactures. 
This  church  was  large,  and  embraced  much  cultiva- 
tion and  intelligence.  Having  been  for  some  time 
in  want  of  an  Assistant  to  their  aged  and  infirm  Pas- 
tor, they  applied  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gillies,  of  Glasgow, 
to  recommend  to  them  a  suitable  candidate.  The 
Doctor  immediately  named  his  young  friend,  Mr. 
Nisbet,  as  the  most  able  and  promising  preacher  he 
could  think  of.  This  nomination  met  with  prompt 
acceptance,  and  immediate  measures  were  taken  by 
the  church  to  present  him  a  call.  Mr.  Nisbet 
thought  it  his  duty  to  accept  of  it,  and  soon  entered 
on  his  new  charge.  The  right  of  patronage  of  this 
Parish  was  vested  in  the  King — George  III. — and 
the  duty  of  taking  the  lead  in  measures  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  was  committed  to  the  Town  Council. 

As  the  documents  which  conveyed  and  authenti- 
cated this  call,  were  in  a  form  not  very  familiar  to 
Presbyterians  in  the  United  States,  where  patronage 
is  happily  unknown;  and  as  they  are  somewhat  his- 
torical in  their  character,  they  are  here  given  at 
large. 

The  original  call  from  the  Town  Council  of  Mont- 
rose, is  as  follows: 

"At  Montrose,  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  January, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-three  years; 
which  day  the  magistrates  and  remanent  members  of 
the  Town  Council  of  the  said  Burgh,  being  met  and 
convened  within  the  new  Council  House  thereof,  and 


20  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

taking  into  their  serious  consideration  that  the  office 
of  an  assistant  or  helper  to  Mr.  John  Cooper,  first 
minister  of  the  gospel  of  this  Burgh,  has  been  for 
some  time  vacant,  by  Mr.  John  Miller,  his  late  as- 
sistant, being  called  to  and  now  settled  minister  at 
Newburgh;  and  that  by  the  agreement  between  the 
Council  and  Mr.  Cooper,  he  empowers  them  to  choose 
any  person  they  shall  think  proper  to  be  his  assist- 
ant; and  having  had  this  day  laid  before  them  an 
extract  of  an  act  or  report  of  the  church  session  of 
'this  Burgh,  dated  the  25th  day  of  January  instant, 
bearing  that  the  several  members  of  session  declared 
that,  according  to  the  best  of  their  information,  the 
congregation  in  general  were  well  satisfied  that  Mr. 
Nisbet,  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  should  be  settled 
Assistant,  and  that  proper  steps  be  taken  for  his  being 
also  successor  to  Mr.  John  Cooper.  And  the  Coun- 
cil, having  considered  the  said  report,  and  also  con- 
sidering that  the  said  Mr.  Charles  Nisbet  has  been, 
for  some  considerable  time  by-past,  preacher  of  the 
Gospel  at  Gorbals,  near  Glasgow:  And  (as  the  Coun- 
cil are  well  informed),  has  discharged  his  office  there 
to  the  satisfaction  of  his  auditory;  and  that  the  Coun- 
cil has  received  a  very  agreeable  character  of  his 
sufficiency  from  very  competent  judges;  and  they 
also  considering  that  he  had  preached  in  the  Church 
here,  several  times  in  the  month  of  July,  1761,  to  the 
general  satisfaction  of  the  Congregation;  and  they, 
looking  upon  him  as  a  very  proper  person  to  be  both 
Helper  and  Successor  to  Mr.  Cooper:  Therefore  the 
Council  did,  and  hereby  do,  unanimously  elect  and 
choose  the  said  Mr.  Charles  Nisbet  to  be  Helper  or 
Assistant  to  the  said  Mr.  John  Cooper,  as  Minister 


HIS    EARLY    LIFE.  21 

aforesaid;  and  also  they,  for  the  reasons  and  causes 
mentioned  in  their  Act  of  Council,  dated  the  14th 
day  of  January,  A.  D.  1761,  do  hereby  entitle  the 
said  Mr.  Charles  Nisbet,  as  long  as  he  shall  exercise 
the  aforesaid  office  of  Assistant  to  Mr.  Cooper,  a 
salary  of  fifty  pounds  sterling  yearly  (being  the  same 
which  was  settled  on  the  two  former  Assistants),  to 
be  paid  to  him  at  two  terms  in  the  year,  Whitsunday 
and  Martinmass,  by  equal  portions,  and  to  com- 
mence upon  the  first  Sabbath  that  he  shall  hereafter 
perform  divine  service  in  the  Church  of  this  Burgh. 
And  further,  the  Council  do  hereby  promise  and 
engage  that  they  will,  without  loss  of  time,  cause 
to  be  made  application  to  his  majesty,  as  patron  of  the 
first  Minister's  charge  here,  for  his  royal  signed 
manual  in  Mr.  Nisbet's  favour,  naming  him  both 
Assistant  to  Mr.  Cooper  during  his  life  time,  and 
also  Successor  to  him  in  his  office  at  his  death:  and 
that  they  will  thereafter  take  the  proper  steps  in 
order  to  get  him  ordained  a  Minister  and  settled 
Helper  and  Successor  as  aforesaid,  according  to  the 
rules  of  the  Church.  And  they  appoint  the  Clerk 
to  make  out  an  extract  of  this  their  act,  and  Baillie 
Lauchlan  Mouson  to  transmit  the  same  to  Mr.  Nis- 
bet, and  to  request  him  to  come  to  this  place  as  soon 
as  possibly  he  can  in  order  to  take  upon  himself  the 
aforesaid  office  of  an  Assistant,  in  regard  his  pre- 
sence, is  much  wanted  here,  as  the  whole  of  the 
ministry  lies  heavy  upon  Mr.  Aitken,  the  other  Min- 
ister." "  Extracted  from  the  Records  of  Council.'^ 
'*  William  Speed,  Clerk,^' 

The  Presentation,  by  the  Royal  Patron,  was  in  the 


22  MEMOIR    or    DR.  NISBET. 

following  words.  It  will  be  perceived  that  it  bears 
date  near  eleven  months  after  the  call  of  the  Town 
Council.  This  is  probably  to  be  accounted  for  in 
two  ways.  First,  the  presentation  by  the  Royal 
Patron  was  not  necessary  to  the  choice  and  settle- 
ment of  an  Jissistant  to  the  Pastor;  but  it  loas 
necessary  to  prepare  the  way  for  that  Assistant  to  be 
"  Successor  in  the  Pastoral  charge.'^  Secondly,  the 
Town  Council  probably  had  assurance  that  the  Royal 
presentation  would  be  made  in  due  time,  and  on  this 
"assurance  both  they  and  the  gentleman  called,  re- 
posed with  confidence,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  take 
those  steps  which  were  desirable  for  obtaining  aid 
to  their  aged  Pastor  as  speedily  and  effectually  as 
possible.  Some  formalities  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment led,  no  doubt,  to  delay  in  actually  drawing  up 
and  transmitting  the  necessary  document. 

*'  George  R. 

"  Whereas,  by  an  humble  representation  to  us, 
from  Mr.  John  Cooper,  Minister  of  the  Gospel  at 
Montrose,  and  from  the  present  Magistrates  of  the 
said  Borough,  and  remanent  members  of  the  Town 
Council  thereof,  we  are  informed,  that,  by  the  great 
age  and  infirmities  of  the  said  John  Cooper,  and  other 
circumstances  of  the  said  Parish,  it  appeared  neces- 
sary to  the  advancement  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  good 
of  the  said  Parish,  that  Mr.  Charles  Nisbet,  Preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  should  be  ordained  Assistant  to  the 
said  John  Cooper,  during  his  life,  and  Successor  in 
office,  as  Minister  of  the  said  Parish,  after  his  death, 
provided  our  consent  was  obtained  thereto,  the  pre- 
sentation upon  the  death  of  the  said  John  Cooper 


HIS    EiRLY    LIFE.  23 

being  in  our  gift,  and  at  our  disposal;  Therefore  we 
are  graciously  pleased,  from  a  due  regard  to  the  said 
representation,  and  the  advancement  of  the  Gospel 
in  said  Parish  of  Montrose,  to  give  the  Royal  Assent 
to  the  said  settlement,  and  to  will  and  consent  that, 
upon  the  death  of  the  said  John  Cooper,  the  said 
Charles  Nisbet  be  entitled  to  the  stipend,  benefice, 
and  profits  now  belonging  to  the  said  John  Cooper, 
in  the  same  manner  as  if  he  had  been  presented  upon 
the  vacancy  of  the  said  Parish.  Given  at  our  Court 
at  St.  James's,  the  25th  day  of  November,  1763,  in 
the  fourth  year  of  our  reign." 

"  By  his  Majesty's  Co7nmcmd, 

^'  Sandwich.'^ 

Mr.  Nisbet,  as  before  stated,  considered  it  as  his 
duty  to  accept  this  call,  and  soon  after  removed  from 
the  vicinity  of  Glasgow  to  Montrose.  He  was  regu- 
larly ordained  to  the  work  of  the  Gospel  Ministr}^, 
on  the  17th  of  May,  A.  D.  1764,  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Brechin,  within  the  bounds  of  which  he  was  now 
placed.  The  Church  to  which  he  now  undertook  to 
minister  was  unusually  large.  The  tradition  is,  that 
in  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which,  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  is  dispensed  at  tables,  and 
not  pews,  there  were  usually  fourteen  or  fifteen 
tables.  Such  a  charge,  when  the  duties  which,  in 
the  former  and  better  days  of  the  Church,  it  was 
considered  as  imposing,  such  as  visiting,  catechising, 
&c.,  as  well  as  preaching,  are  taken  into  considera- 
tion, must  have  been  a  formidable  undertaking  for  a 
young  man.  He  addressed  himself  to  it,  however, 
with  something  of  the  spirit  which  its  nature  de- 


24  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  NISBET. 

manded,  and  was  favoured  with  great  acceptance  by 
the  people.  Though  he  was  officially  a  Helper  or 
Assistant  in  the  charge,  yet  the  chief  weight  of  all 
the  duties  connected  with  it  devolved  on  him,  as  Mr. 
Cooper,  the  senior  Minister,  was  aged  and  infirm, 
and  seldom  able  to  appear  in  public.  He  lived,  how- 
ever, nearly  ten  years  after  Mr.  Nisbet  was  brought 
into  connection  with  him,  viz.  until  1773,  when  he 
deceased,  and  left  his  young  Assistant  in  the  sole 
charge  of  the  congregation. 

About  two  years  after  Mr.  Nisbet  settled  at  Mont- 
rose, he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Anne 
Tweedie,  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Tweedie,  Esquire, 
of  Quarter,  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Edinburgh. 
His  elder  brother,  Mr.  Andrew  Nisbet,  before  spoken 
of,  afterwards  minister  of  a  Church  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Glasgow,  was,  for  several  years  prior  to  his 
ordination,  engaged  as  a  private  Tutor  in  the  family 
of  Mr.  Tweedie.  During  this  period,  the  subject  of 
this  memoir,  while  a  student  in  the  University,  and 
about  eighteen  years  of  age,  paid  a  visit  to  his  bro- 
ther. In  the  course  of  this  visit  he  became  attached 
to  Mr.  Tweedie's  daughter  Anne.  This  attachment 
was  favourably  received,  and  ultimately  led  to  a  mat- 
rimonial engagement.  Their  marriage,  however,  on 
account  of  his  situation,  was  postponed  for  twelve 
years.  In  the  month  of  June,  1766,  they  were 
united,  and  lived  together  about  thirty-eight  years, 
in  great  harmony  and  comfort.  About  the  same 
time  with  the  marriage  of  Mr.  Nisbet,  the  nuptials  of 
another  distinguished  individual  occurred  at  Mont- 
rose, both  of  whom  were  particular  friends  of  Dr. 
Beattie,  the  celebrated  moral  philosopher  and  poet 


HIS    EARLY    LIFE.  25 

of  Marlschal  College,  Aberdeen.  On  this  occasion, 
Dr.  Beattie  composed  and  transmitted  a  beautiful 
Poem,  which  he  styled  Epithalamium  Montrosi- 
ANUM.  Pains  have  been  taken  to  recover  this  ele- 
gant testimonial  of  friendship  from  so  popular  and 
honoured  a  pen,  but  without  success. 

Not  long  after  Mr.  Nisbet  became  an  assistant 
Minister  at  Montrose,  another  event  occurred  which 
showed  the  high  esteem  and  confidence  in  which  he 
was  held  by  those  who  were  most  competent  to  judge 
of  his  character  and  attainments.  In  the  month  of 
November,  1766,  on  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fin- 
ley,  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Witherspoon,  then  Pastor  of  the  Church  of 
Paisley,  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  was  unanimously 
chosen  to  succeed  him  in  the  Presidentship  of  that  In- 
stitution. His  first  answer  to  this  call  was  in  the 
negative.  He  felt  himself  so  bound  to  the  land  and  the 
Church  of  his  nativity,  that  he  could  not  consent  to 
sever  himself  from  them,  and  go  to  a  land  of  stran- 
gers. While  in  this  state  of  mind,  feeling  it  im- 
possible that  he  himself  should  accept  the  office,  he 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  Mr.  Nisbet. 

"  Paisley,  May  25,  1767." 
"  Dear  Sir," 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  you,  some  time  ago, 
upon  the  subject  of  the  call  from  New-Jersey, 
which  I  did  not  answer  immediately,  as  that  affair 
was  under  deliberation.  It  has  indeed  given  me  the 
greatest  uneasiness  that  ever  any  thing  of  the  kind 
did,  for  I  felt  a  very  strong  inclination  in  myself  to 
comply;  but  met  with  so  many  difficulties  from  my 
3 


26  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

family  and  connexions,  particularly  my  wife's  insu- 
perable aversion,  that  1  have  been  at  last  obliged  to 
give  it  up.     I  find  the  gentlemen  here  are  still  de- 
sirous of  having  one  from  Scotland,  and  particularly 
a  young  gentleman,  Mr.  Rush,  from  that  country,  a 
Student  of  Medicine   at  Edinburgh,  a  most  agreea- 
ble young  man,  and  who  has  the  warmest  attachment 
to  the  interest  of  that  Seminary,  was  with  me  the  end 
of  last  week  on  that  subject.     I  then  named  i/ou  to 
him  as  the  person  of  all  my  acquaintance  the  fittest 
for  that  office,  and  said    that  your  being  so   much 
younger  than  me  was,  in  my  opinion,  an  advantage, 
instead  of  a  loss.     He  told   me  you  had  been  men- 
tioned by  his  friends  at  Edinburgh;  and  that  he  vva^ 
sure  that   any  person   recommended   by  me  to  them 
would  be  chosen  by  the  Trustees.     I,  therefore,  un- 
dertook to  write  to  you  on  the  subject,  which  I  now 
beg  you  may  take  into  your  immediate  serious  con- 
sideration.    I  dare  say  you   will   consider  this  as  a 
mark  of  my  undissembled   esteem,  and    assure   you 
that  you  have  not  a  sincerer  friend;  and  that  1  be- 
lieve  it   to   be  a  station   in  which   you  may  be  emi- 
nently useful,  as  well  as  a  station   of  much  honour 
and  profit.    I  know  there  is  one  difficulty:  a  prudent 
man   may  be  backward  to    give  his  consent,  when 
there  is  only  a  possibility,  not  a  certainly,  of  his  be- 
ing elected;  but  when  you  consider  the  necessity  of 
the  case,  and  the  disappointment  they  have  already 
incurred,  you  will  be  sensible  that  we  cannot  write 
to   them  to  make  an  election   of  another   in  Britain, 
unless  they  have  reason  to  think  it  will  be  success- 
ful; and  therefore  hope  you  will  overcome  this  diffi- 
culty; and  that  jou  may  not  run  the  least  risque,  I 


HIS    EARLY    LIFE.  27 

have  taken  Mr.  Rush,  and  engaged  that  no  person  shall 
know  of  this  application  to  you  but  your  friends  at 
Edinburgh,  Mr.  Erskine  and  Mr.  Wallace,  Let 
me  have  your  answer  as  soon  as  you  possibly  can  on 
such  a  subject." 

"  I   rejoice  to  hear  of  Mrs.  Nisbet's  welfare  and 
fruitfulness;  and  do  heartily  wish   you   much  plea- 
sure and  comfort  in  your  family.     Present  my  com- 
pliments to  her  in  the  most  affectionate  manner. 
"  I  am,  dear  sir, 

"  Your  affectionate  brother," 

^'  John  Witherspoon." 

When  we  consider  that  Mr.  Nisbet  was  now  only 
thirty-one  years  of  age;  that  the  gentleman  who 
spoke  thus  of  him  was  Doctor  Witherspoon,  un- 
doubtedly one  of  the  most  sagacious  and  wise  men 
of  his  day;  and  that  such  a  judge,  who  had  long  and 
intimately  known  him,  pronounced  him  "  the  fittest 
man  of  all  his  acquaintance"  to  be  the  head  of  a  Col- 
lege; we  are  presented  with  a  testimonial  of  Mr. 
Nisbet's  reputation  in  Scotland,  at  this  time,  for 
talents  and  learning,  of  the  most  remarkable  kind. 

Whether,  in  consequence  of  this  recommendation 
by  Doctor  Witherspoon,  any  movement  was  ever 
made  in  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Princeton  College 
towards  the  election  of  Mr.  Nisbet,  is  not  now  known. 
There  is  no  record  to  that  amount  in  the  minutes  of 
that  Body.  But  the  fact  is,  that  in  a  very  short  time 
after  this  letter  announcing  his  own  refusal  of  the 
call  to  America,  and  recommending  Mr.  Nisbet,  was 
written,  Dr.  Witherspoon  reconsidered  the  subject; 
and  intimated  to  the  Trustees  o£  the  College  that,  if 


28  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

their  call  should  be  repeated,  he  would  accept  of  it. 
It  was  unanimously  repeated.  He  declared  his  ac- 
ceptance of  it;  and  the  next  year  removed  to  Ame- 
rica, and  entered  on  the  duties  of  a  station  which  he 
adorned  for  twenty-six  years. 

The  truth  is,  Mr.  Nisbet  was  now  regarded  as  among 
the  most  learned  men  in  Scotland,  and  was  prover- 
bially called  '■^  the  walking  Library  J^  Nor  was 
this  wonderful.  His  thirst  for  knowledge  was  insa- 
tiable. His  habits  of  study  were  singularly  diligent. 
His  memory  was  not  only  excellent,  but  bordered 
on  the  prodigious.  The  Libraries  within  his  reach 
were  large  and  rich.  And  his  access  to  the  society  of 
literary  men,  both  in  and  out  of  the  Church,  was  such 
as  seldom  falls  to  the  lot  of  one  so  youthful,  and  who 
could  boast  so  little  of  what  is  called  worldly  pa- 
tronage. 

The  secret  of  the  last  mentioned  circumstance  was 
this.  His  social  talents  were  singularly  excellent. 
His  wit  and  humour  might  be  said  to  be  unrivalled. 
He  was  really  qualified  to  instruct  and  highly  to  en- 
tertain any  circle,  literary  or  religious,  of  the  most 
elevated  class.  The  consequence  was,  that  his  com- 
pany was  as  much  courted,  and  his  social  connexions 
as  large  and  honourable,  as  almost  any  man  of  his 
day  in  the  Church  of  Scotland.  Circumstances,  in 
his  early  history,  made  him  intimately  acquainted 
with  several  of  the  nobility  of  Scotland,  both  male 
and  female;  and  his  peculiarly  interesting  social 
character,  served  to  rivet  and  extend  friendships  of 
this  kind,  and  led  to  much  intercourse  with  them 
YfhWe  he  remained  in  his  native  country,  and  to  a 
gratifying  correspondence  after  he  came  to  Ame- 
rica. 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  29 


CHAPTER    II. 

His  Ministry  in  Scotland, 

When  Mr.  Nlsbet  entered  on  the  Ministry  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  that  Church,  as  is  well  known, 
was  divided,  and  had  long  been  divided,  into  two 
great  parties  —  the  Orthodox  and  the  Moderate. 
The  Orthodox  were  distinguished  by  their  attach- 
ment to  evangelical  truth,  and  faithful  preaching; 
and  by  their  opposition  to  Patronage,  especially  to 
its  abuses.  And  although  they  were  not  enemies  to 
the  ecclesiastical  establishment;  yet  they  were  jeal- 
ous of  the  encroachments  of  the  civil  government, 
and  ever  on  the  watch  to  maintain  the  spiritual 
purity  of  the  Church,  and  to  guard  its  ministers  and 
judicatories  from  being  made  the  instruments  of  de- 
signing statesmen  to  accomplish  schemes  of  secular 
policy,  at  the  expense  of  real  religion.  The  Mode- 
rate were  more  lax  in  their  doctrinal  views;  less 
evangelical  in  their  preaching;  friends  of  the  system 
of  patronage;  and  more  accommodating  in  their  feel- 
ings and  votes  to  the  plans  of  secular  politicians. 
The  Orthodox  were  disposed  to  contend  for  the 
rights  of  the  people  in  the  settlement  of  ministers, 
and  in  all  their  judicial  proceedings.  The  Mode- 
rate were,  in  general,  favourable  to  the  influence 
of  the  crown  in  the  courts  of  the  Church;  willing 
3* 


30  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBJST. 

to  let  tlie  law  of  patronage  take  its  legal  course, 
however  hardly  it  might  bear  on  the  popular  choice; 
and  always  reluctant  to  thwart  the  views  of  the  civil 
administration. 

Mr.  Nisbet,  from  the  first,  associated  himself  de- 
cisively and  uniformly  with  the  Orthodox  party. 
He  contended,  side  by  side,  with  his  early  and  faith- 
ful friend.  Dr.  Witherspoon ;  and,  although  the  class  to 
which  he  belonged  were,  at  that  time,  and  continued 
for  many  years  to  be  a  minority;  yet  he  adhered  to 
his  principles  with  steadfastness,  and  the  laudable 
efforts  of  himself  and  his  faithful  associates  were 
sometimes  crowned  with  unexpected  success.  His 
piety,  his  learning,  his  wit,  his  powerful  appeals,  not 
unfrequently  prevailed  over  all  the  talents,  the  plau- 
sibility, the  tactics,  and  the  governmental  favour  of 
his  opponents. 

Of  Mr.  Nisbet's  talents  as  a  debator  in  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly,  the  traditionary  statements  are  of  the 
strongest  kind.  At  this  distance  of  time,  however, 
two  specimens  only  can  be  given.  For  the  space 
which  these  specimens  occupy,  no  apology  will  be 
deemed  necessary  by  those  who  are  capable  of  appre- 
ciating genuine  eloquence.  It  wOuld  be  unjust  to  his 
memory  to  deny  them  a  place  in  this  Memoir.  They 
are  both  extracted  from  the  volume  of  the  "London 
Magazine,"  for  1773,  where  they  are  accompanied 
with  expressions  of  approbation  of  the  highest  kind. 

By  the  constitution  of  Scotland,  it  is  granted  to 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  powers,  jointly,  to  regu- 
late I  he  extent  and  number  of  parishes,  by  making 
such  ahoratioris  as  shall  be  judged  to  conduce  to  the 
general  good;    ruming  two  parishes  out  of  oae  large 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLiND.  31 

one,  or  annexing  one  parish  to  another,  and,  conse- 
quently, sinking  one  altogether.  On  a  case  of  a  pro- 
posed annexation  of  one  parish  to  another,  and,  of 
course,  diminishing  the  number  of  parishes,  which 
the  Presbytery  of  Brechin,  to  which  Mr.  Nisbet  be- 
longed, had  ordered,  and  which  the  synod  of  Perth 
and  Stirling  had  affirmed;  upon  being  brought  before 
the  General  Assembly,  in  the  year  1771,  Mr.  Nis- 
bet, who  had  stood  alone  in  the  Presbytery,  and 
also  in  the  Synod,  in  opposition  to  the  proposed 
measure,  delivered  the  following  speech: 

"  Moderator:^ 

"  1  bring  this  complaint,  not  for  any  private  profit 
or  emolument,  but  solely  for  the  interest  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  the  ver}^  being  of  which  I  appre- 
hend to  be  concerned  in  the  issue  of  it.  It  may  seem 
to  need  some  apology,  that  I  have  adventured  to 
differ  from  a  whole  presbytery  and  synod  of  my  re- 
verend fathers  and  brethren  ;  but  this  will  seem  the 
less  presumption,  when  it  is  considered,  that  only 
two  members  of  presbytery,  and  ^\sq  of  the  synod, 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  judging  in  the  matter, 
and  even  these  were  solicited  and  bespoke  by  the 
professed  enemies  of  this  church.  \w  a  case  over- 
loaded with  truth  and  evidence,  one  must  be  under 
an  unusual  difficulty  to  adduce  arguments.  Dr,  Til- 
lotson  complains  that  it  is  extremely  hard  that  a  man 
should  be  obliged  to  write  a  book  to  prove  that  an 
egg  is  not  an  oyster,  or  that  a  musket  ball  is  not  a 
pike.  I  find  myself  precisely  in  the  same  situation 
at  present.  I  am  to  prove,  I  hope  to  your  convic- 
tion, that  it  is  for  the  interest  of  religion,  that  parish 


32  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

churches  should  be  preserved,  instead  of  being  de- 
stroyed, and  do  not  imagine  that  I  stand  in  need  of 
any  extraordinary  eloquence  or  logic  for  that  pur- 
pose. I  must  however  beg  the  attention  of  the  house 
to  the  cause,  as  however  trifling  it  may  appear  to 
some,  it  is  no  less  than  articulus  stantis  aut  caden- 
tis  eccleside.  How  any  member  of  this  church  should 
be  overpersuaded  into  a  scheme  tending  to  its  de- 
struction, as  it  must  appear  a  paradox,  I  reckon  my- 
self obliged  to  account  for  it.  One  thing  only  I  beg 
leave  to  add,  by  way  of  preamble,  before  I  enter  on 
the  narrative,  namely,  to  purge  myself  of  malice  and 
partial  counsel.  As  I  am  to  narrate  the  actions  of 
sundry  gentlemen  interested  in  this  business,  I  begin 
with  declaring,  in  the  presence  of  that  Being  who 
knows  my  heart,  that  I  have  no  personal  enmity  to 
any  of  them,  that  from  some  of  them  I  have  received 
good  offices,  and  would  be  ready  to  serve  all  of  them 
in  an  honest  way. 

The  rise  of  this  proposal  of  annexation,  to  the  best 
of  my  knowledge,  is  as  follows.  Some  time  ago  Mr. 
Bruce,  one  of  the  ministers  of  Brechin,  applied  to  his 
presbytery  for  their  concurrence  in  a  process  he  in- 
tended to  raise  against  his  heretors  for  the  augmenta- 
tion of  his  stipend,  which  was  readily  granted  ;  but 
afterwards,  being  apprehensive  of  the  length  and  ex- 
pence  of  such  a  process,  he  resolved  to  try,  with  the 
consent  of  his  presbytery,  what  he  could  get  from 
them  in  the  way  of  private  negociation,  A  meeting 
was  accordingly  appointed  for  this  purpose,  betwixt 
the  heretors  and  a  committee  of  presbytery.  At  this 
meeting  the  heretors  consented  to  make  some  addi- 
tion to  Mr.  Bruce's  stipend  j  but  it  seems  they  in- 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  33 

tended  it  should  not  be  at  their  own  charges.  One 
parish  was  proposed  to  be  annexed,  to  make  some 
small  addition  to  the  living  of  another.  The  parish 
of  Kinnaird,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Brechin,  was 
pitched  upon  for  that  purpose,  and  a  scheme  was  set 
on  foot  by  the  tutors  of  Sir  David  Carnegy  of  South- 
esk,  a  minor,  sole  heretor  of  the  parish  of  Kinnaird, 
in  conjunction  with  sundry  gentlemen,  heretors  of 
the  parish  of  Brechin,  to  bring  a  process  before  the 
lords  commissioners  for  plantation  of  kirks,  &c.  for 
suppressing  the  church  and  parish  of  Kinnaird,  and 
annexing  it  to  the  adjacent  parishes  of  Farnwell  and 
Brechin,  and  to  apply  to  the  presbytery  for  their 
consent  to  said  process.  But  as  it  could  not  be  sup- 
posed that  the  presbytery  would  give  their  consent 
to  a  plan  tending  to  the  destruction  of  all  their  chur- 
ches, they  were  not  left  to  their  liberty  in  judging. 
The  gentlemen  interested  In  the  cause,  by  them- 
selves or  their  agents,  had  first  bespoken  and  enga- 
ged most  of  the  members  to  support,  or  at  least  not 
to  oppose  this  design  ;  and  not  till  these  solicitations 
were  over,  a  presbytery  pro  re  nata  was  called,  in 
the  middle  of  harvest,  when  few  members  could  at- 
tend, and  a  petition  from  the  heretors  of  the  parishes 
of  Kinnaird,  Farnwell  and  Brechin,  was  presented  to 
them,  setting  forth,  that  whereas  many  parishes  in 
Scotland  are  incommodiously  large,  and  others  very 
small,  the  support  of  churches  and  manses  was  there- 
by rendered  heavy  upon  heretors  ;  and  whereas  the 
parish  of  Kinnaird  is  a  small  one,  consisting  of  not 
much  more  than  one  hundred  examinable  persons, 
and  lying  within  one  mile  of  the  church  of  Farn- 
well, and  not  much  farther  from   Brechin,  therefore 


34  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

praying  that  the  presbytery  would  consent  to  a  naore 
commodious  division  of  said  parish,  by  annexing  the 
parish  of  Kinnaird  to  the  adjacent  parishes  of  Farn- 
well  and  Brechin,  and  that  they  the  heretors  would 
engage  to  enlarge  the  church  at  Farnwell,  so  far  as 
should  be  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
new  parishioners.  This  petition,  after  a  delay  of  a 
fortnight,  hardly  obtained,  was  at  last  granted  in  a 
meeting  of  five  members  of  the  presbytery,  three  of 
whom  were  interested  in  the  question. 

On  this  occasion  I  thought  it  my  duty,  after  plead- 
ing in  vain  what  occurred  to  me  in  opposition  to  this 
destructive  scheme,  and  having  consulted  with  some 
of  the  most  learned  of  my  brethren,  to  dissent  from 
this  sentence  of  presbytery,  and  to  complain  of  it  to 
the  ensuing  synod.  At  the  meeting  of  the  synod  in 
October  following,  out  of  seventy-two  members,  of 
whom  the  synod  consists,  only  five  attended,  besides 
the  presbytery  of  Brechin,  who  were  parties  ;  and 
these,  with  a  correspondent  from  the  synod  of  Perth 
and  Stirling,  whom  they  put  into  the  chair  at  hear- 
ing the  complaint,  were  pleased  to  dismiss  it  as  fri- 
volous, and  it  was  even  proposed  to  censure  the  com- 
plainer.  Finding  the  interest  of  the  church  so  scan- 
dalously neglected  by  the  synod  on  this  occasion,  by 
means  of  the  influence  of  heretors,  I  found  myself 
under  a  necessity  of  bringing  my  complaint  before 
this  house,  where  I  am  persuaded  that  local  prejudi- 
ces and  party  influence  will  have  no  place,  I  am  to 
show  that  the  proposed  annexation,  agreed  to  by  the 
presbytery  and  synod,  is  illegal,  unnecessary,  and 
ruinous  to  the  interest  of  this  church,  and  that  it  has 
been  contrived  by  our  professed  enemies,  to  make  a 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  35 

precedent  for  destroying  this  church  piece  meal.     It 
is  indeed  represented   by  the  gentlemen  petitioners 
to  the  presbytery  as  a  more  commodious  division  of 
the  parishes  in  question,  and  what  they  propose  by 
way  of  remedy  to  their  present  inconvenient  divi- 
sion, is  not  that  part  of  the  greater  parish  should  be 
annexed  to   the  lesser,  to  bring  them   nearer  to  an 
equality,  but  that  the  least  of  them  should  be  wholly 
suppressed,  and  annexed  to  the  two  others.     This  is 
commodious  indeed  :   but  to  whom  ?   to  the  landed 
gentlemen  only,  who  think  they  will  have  less  sti- 
pend to  pay,  and  fewer  churches  to  support  in  con- 
sequence of  it.     They  observe  that  some  parishes  are 
too  large,  and  others  too  small.     Granted  ;  but  the 
common  remedy  they  propose  for  both  these  incon- 
veniences is  annexation.     Wonderfully  commodious 
again  !     I  once  knew  a  gentleman,  who  used  to  say, 
that  there  were  only  two  kinds  of  dogs  that  he  could 
not  bear,  the  great  dogs  and  the  little  dogs  :  the  gen- 
tlemen petitioners  seem  to  have  the  same  idea  of  pa- 
rishes, as  they  propose  that  the  small  parishes  should 
be  annexed   to  the  great  ones,  to  render  them  more 
commodious,  and  the  fitter  to  be  annexed  in  due  time. 
Wonderful   indeed  !     En   cor  Zeiiodott,  en  jecur 
Cratetis  !     Does  this  scheme  fall  any  thing  short  of 
a  design  to  destroy  all  the  parish  churches  in  Scot- 
land one  after  another  ?     Non-jurant  meetings  were 
suppressed  by  law  in   1746,  though  connived  at  by 
the  present  ministry  for  reasons  of  state.     If  an  at- 
tempt had  been  made  to  suppress  any  of  these,  though 
against  an  express  law,  the  promoters  of  this  scheme 
would  have  cried  out  persecution,  and  applied  to  the 
throne  for  redress.     But  it  seems  it  is  lawful  enough 


36  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

to  contrive  the  suppression  of  established  churches, 
and  to  make  use  of  the  law,  which  was  made  for  their 
preservation,  for  their  destruction.  As  the  lenity  of 
the  ministry  has  tolerated  these  non-jurant  meetings, 
why  should  not  the  benefit  of  this  toleration  be  ex- 
tended to  the  established  church  ? 

If  such  things  go  on,  no  one  can  say  how  far  this 
idea  of  conveniency  may  be  extended.  Dionysius,  a 
respectable  heretor  in  ancient  times,  thought  it  ex- 
tremely convenient  for  him  to  abstract  the  golden 
cloak  from  the  statue  of  Jupiter,  and  to  annex  it  to 
his  own  property  ;  and  he  gave  very  good  reasons 
for  it  :  it  was  too  heavy  in  summer,  and  too  cold  in 
winter  :  and  by  the  same  train  of  thinking  among 
our  landed  gentlemen,  it  may  possibly  soon  be  found 
most  convenient  to  have  no  churches  at  all.  Our 
legal  establishment  must  be  wholly  elusory,  if  it  is 
to  be  cut  and  carved  upon  by  every  gentleman  at 
pleasure,  according  to  his  notions  of  ideal  convenien- 
cy. Although  it  were  not  publicly  known,  that  the 
pretender's  friends  are  at  the  bottom  of  this  design, 
the  ver}^  nature  of  it  proves  it  the  work  of  an  enemy 
to  our  church.  The  Jews  reasoned  well  when  they 
said,  "He  loveth  our  nation,  and  hath  built  us  a  sy- 
nagogue.'^ And  may  we  not  say  as  justly,  He  hates 
our  constitution,  and  has  destroyed  us  a  church  ?  It 
might  seem  wonderful  indeed  in  one  view,  how  the 
persons  concerned  in  this  design  should  ever  have 
been  united  ;  but  a  little  time  ago,  on  occasion  of  a 
controverted  election,  they  were  as  bitter  enemies  to 
each  other  as  ever  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate.  But 
when  a  church  is  to  be  destroyed,  they  become  at 
once  hearty  friends  ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  37 

a  non-jurant  meeting  has  been  lately  erected  at  Bre- 
chin by  one  of  the  subscribers,  the  cause  of  their 
union  may  be  easily  guessed. 

*'But  to  consider  this  proposal  in  the  view  of  real 
conveniency;  the  parish  of  Brechin  is  six  miles  long, 
and  near  three  broad,  sufficiently  inhabited,  besides 
the  large  town  of  Brechin  in  the  centre.  The  church 
is  too  small  already  for  the  people  that  attend  it, 
and  the  expense  of  supporting  the  fabric  is  furnished 
out  of  the  poor's  money.  Such  a  parish  does  not 
seem  to  stand  in  any  need  of  an  addition  to  make  it 
more  convenient.  The  parish  of  Farnwell  is  at  pre- 
sent as  large  as  many  others  in  its  neighbourhood,  and 
the  minister  has  a  living  superior  to  most  in  the 
country:  so  that  neither  does  this  parish  need  any 
addition.  If  real  conveniency  was  sought  for,  the 
smallest  degree  of  common  sense  would  dictate,  that 
the  smaller  parish  should  be  augmented  from  the 
greater.  But  it  seems  this  did  not  occur  to  the  wise 
projectors  of  this  scheme,  or  they  did  not  think  it  so 
much  for  their  interest.  It  is  evident  then,  that  no 
part  of  the  parish  of  Kinnaird  can  be  annexed  to 
Brechin,  as  the  church  is  already  too  small,  and  the 
heretors  have  no  power  to  enlarge  it.  This  being 
the  case,  how  are  the  parishioners  of  Kinnaird  to  be 
accommodated  when  annexed  to  Brechin,  unless 
they  could  contract  themselves  into  as  small  dimen- 
sions as  the  audience  of  the  Pandaemonium,  or  choose 
to  go  to  the  non-jurant  meeting?  Besides,  the  ex- 
pense of  opening  the  wall  of  that  cathedral  would 
amount  to  more  than  these  heretors  have  bestowed 
on  churches  these  fifty  years  past.  Our  Church, 
Sir,  is  established  by  law,  and  unless  that  establish- 
4 


38  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

ment  be  entirely  elusory,  it  must  extend  to  all  and 
every  one  of  our  parish  churches,  except  where  the 
law  has  declared  otherwise.  It  is  true,  that  the 
lords  commissioners  have  a  power  to  annex  churches ; 
but  this  power  is  limited  by  law,  and  will  be  found 
not  to  extend  to  the  case  in  hand.  The  act  which 
defines  their  powers  is  act  3,  part  22,  Ja.  VI.  ISth 
June,  1617,  and  has  these  express  words:  *  With 
special  power  to  the  said  commissioners,  to  unite 
sik  kirks,  ane  or  moe,  as  may  conveniently  be  unite,, 
where  the  fruits  of  any  one  alone  will  not  suffice  to 
entertain  ane  minister.'  It  is  evident  from  these 
words,  that  small  and  insufficient  livings  only  were  in 
the  view  of  the  legislature,  and  that  a  sufficient  living 
is  incapable  of  annexation.  The  parish  of  Kinnaird 
is  a  sufficient  living:  there  are  twelve  parishes  in  the 
presbytery,  whose  living  is  inferior  to  it,  and  but 
four  greater.  Unfavourable  statutes  ought  to  be  strict- 
ly interpreted:  what  the  law  permits  the  lords  to  do 
in  one  case  only,  can  in  no  shape  be  extended  to  any 
other  case  whatever.  The  power  of  the  lords  com- 
missioners is  for  edification,  and  not  for  destruction: 
they  are  designed  in  the  act,  lords  commissioners  for 
plantation  of  kirks  and  valuation  of  tiends:  now  to 
destroy  one  church  in  three  over  all  the  kingdom, 
can  never  be  called  planting  of  kirks.  They  have 
power  indeed  to  annex  insufficient  livings,  as  an  act  of 
mercy  to  ministerswhen  no  other  provision  can  be  got 
for  them,  but  have  no  power  to  touch  those  that  are 
already  sufficient.  This  parish  of  Kinnaird  is  a  suf- 
ficient living,  and  it  is  not  the  least  in  Scotland,  nor 
of  the  presbytery  where  it  lies;  and  as  the  estate  of 
Southesk,  of  which  it  is  a  part,  has  been  under  for- 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  39 

feiture  since  1715,  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  is  not  very- 
populous  at  present,  though,  when  the  improvements 
already  projected  shall  be  carried  into  execution,  it 
will  probably  be  as  populous  as  many  others.  But 
the  promoters  of  this  scheme  have  chosen  to  catch 
the  time  for  it  while  this  objection  is  in  force,  by  a 
policy  similar  to  that  of  valuing  their  tiends  before 
their  rents  are  raised.  But  does  not  the  establish- 
ment of  all  churches  tolerate  small  parishes  as  well 
as  large  ones?  Small  and  great  are  relative  terms, 
and,  though  this  design  should  succeed,  some  parish- 
es will  be  smaller  than  others  till  we  come  to  the 
greatest  of  all,  by  destroying  them  one  by  one.  De- 
mo unum,  demo  etiam  unum,  dinn  cadat  elusus 
ratione  mentis  acervi:  so  that  the  utmost  favour 
that  any  parish  in  Scotland  could  expect  from  this 
annexing  scheme  is  only  the  same  that  Polyphemus 
promised  to  Ulysses,  to  be  devoured  last  of  all.  Min- 
isters of  small  parishes  may  be  useful  to  the  church 
by  the  works  of  their  retirement.  Some  of  the  min- 
isters of  our  church  have  begun  to  figure  in  his- 
torical composition;  and  unless  we  tolerate  small 
charges,  how  shall  our  ministers  find  time  to  write 
histories?  Every  sufficient  living  is,  by  the  plain 
meaning  of  this  act,  continued  upon  the  establish- 
ment, and  it  is  out  of  the  power  of  the  lords  commis- 
sioners to  touch  it;  but  if  this  line  is  once  broken, 
and  one  sufficient  living  suppressed,  ourwhole  estab- 
lishment becomes  a  baseless  fabric,  and  may  be 
undermined  at  pleasure.  Why  should  this  little 
church  be  denied  the  benefit  of  all  other  churches? 
Is  it  not  robbery,  is  it  not  assassination,  to  disjoin  it 
from  the  common  foundation  of  the  rest,  to  destroy 


40  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

it  with  more  ease?  This  is  like  taking  a  man  into  a 
dark  corner,  and  knocking  him  down  before  he  can 
call  for  help.  But  the  words  of  the  statute  are  ex- 
press to  this  purpose,  so  that  we  need  not  rest  on 
general  inferences;  for  it  afterwards  expressly  ^  finds 
and  declares,  that  all  kirks  which  are  planted  with  mi- 
nisters, whose  stipends  extend  to  five  chalders  victual, 
or  five  hundred  merks  money,  [the  then  minimum 
of  that  country]  are  expressly  excepted  out  of  this 
commission,  and  no  wayes  comes  under  the  compasse 
thereof,  neither  shall  the  said  commissioners  have 
any  power,  by  virtue  hereof,  to  meddle  with  any 
kirks  or  stipends  which  are  in  that  case,  seeing  the 
said  commission  is  not  extended  to  the  same.'  No 
words  can  be  conceived  more  positive  or  express 
for  hindering  the  annexation  of  sufficient  livings; 
nay,  the  legislature  seem  anxious  to  declare  this  to 
be  their  meaning.  What  then  must  we  think  of  the 
logic  or  candour  of  those  who  would  subject  them  to 
it  at  pleasure?  Dr.  Donne  tells  us  of  an  ingenious 
critic,  who,  in  explaining  the  Decalogue,  expunged 
the  negative  particle  from  every  precept,  and  would 
have  the  twelve  negatives  taken  from  it,  to  be  insert- 
ed in  the  several  articles  of  the  Apostle's  Creed,  to 
make  a  complete  and  consistent  body  of  doctrine. 
And  surely  it  must  need  no  less  licentious  interpre- 
tation to  evince,  that  a  sufficient  church  living  can 
be  annexed,  since  the  law  is  so  express  to  the  con- 
trary. Some  may  alledge,  that  the  lords  hav&a  dis- 
cretionary power  to  annex  what  churches  they  think 
fit,  but  the  law  gives  them  no  such  power;  and'  how- 
ever fit  the  present  lords  may  be  to  have  such  a  pow- 
er, I  dare  not  trust  their  successors.     The  law  req^ui- 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  41 

res  two  things  to  make  a  parish  legally  annexable: 
insufficiency  of  living,  and  commodiousness  for  an- 
nexation. Neither  of  these  have  place  in  the  pre- 
sent case.  Besides,  this  church  of  Kinnaird  is  rather 
better  founded  than  most  others,  not  being  a  popish 
foundation,  but  erected  by  the  lords,  upon  mature 
deliberation,  and  conviction  of  its  necessity,  in  1661, 
an  age  of  no  very  violent  zeal  for  religion,  when 
building  of  churches  was  far  from  being  the  the  ru- 
ling passion.  And  the  same  lords  were  so  convinced 
of  the  necessity  and  importance  of  this  erection,  that 
in  1718  they  granted  an  augmentation  of  stipend  to 
the  minister.  I  know  there  is  a  story  told,  which 
seems  contrived  on  purpose  to  favour  this  annexa- 
tion: it  is  said,  that  about  1661  there  was  an  immor- 
tale  odium  <^'  nunquam  fanabile  vulniis  betwixt 
the  earl  of  Southesk  and  the  earl  of  Airlie  then  resi- 
ding in  the  neighbourhood,  because  the  parson  of 
Farnwell,  where  they  both  attended  divine  worship, 
used  to  bow  to  Lord  Airlie  before  his  lordship,  and 
that  this  parish  of  Kinnaird  was  disjoined  from  that 
of  Farnwell  and  Brechin,  only  that  his  lordship  might 
have  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of  receiving  the 
first  bow  from  the  parson — a  favour  not  so  much 
esteemed  in  our  days.  This  absurd  story  has  been 
evidently  contrived  to  represent  the  erection  of  this 
parish  to  have  proceeded  from  a  whim,  that  it  might 
be  destroyed  by  another  whim. 

"  The  gentlemen  concerned  in  this  design  would 
perhaps  laugh  at  the  mention  of  sacrilege,  so  that  I 
shall  not  insist  upon  that;  but  must  it  not  at  least  be 
felony  to  attempt  the  destruction  of  a  church  already 
as  well  secured  as  the  law  can  secure  it,  and  to  ab- 
4^ 


42  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISKET. 

stract  the  revenues  of  it  from  the  lawful  proprietors? 
These  gentlemen   would   have  been  hanged  by  the 
neck,  if  they    had  formed  the  same  design  against  a 
private  house;  and  why  it  should  be  more  lawful  t^ 
assault  a  church  is  hard    to  say.     I  have   heard  of  a 
couple  of  Highland  gentlemen,  long  ago,   who  hav- 
ing some  difference   about  the  division  of  the  spoil 
they  had  taken  in  conjunction  during  the  Miehaelmas 
moon,  gravely   resolved   to   have   it  decided  by  the 
court  of  session.     The  present  case,  in  my  view  of 
it,  not  a  little  resembles  theirs.     To  demand  the  con- 
sent of  the  judges  to  an  unlawful  design  is  an  insult 
upon  all  law  whatever.     It  signifies  nothing  to  say, 
that  the   stipend,   when   annexed,   is   to    be  divided 
amongst  the  neighbouring  clergy.     God  hates  rob- 
bery for  burnt  offering,  and  so  should  all  his  servants. 
If  a  robber  takes  my  money  on  the  road,  whether  he 
keeps  it  to  himself,  or  gives    it  to   his  whore,  I  am 
equally  injured,  and  the  law  is  equally  transgressed  in 
both  cases.     If  the  ministers  of  large  parishes  are  to 
be  allowed  to  annihilate  the  lesser  livings,  and  to  di- 
vide them  among  themselves,  must  not   this  tend  to 
corrupt  the  clergy,  by  offering  baits  to  their  avarice, 
and   making  them   have   an   evil  eye  towards  their 
brethren?   not  to  say,  that  this  would  be  an  erecting 
of  dignities  in  the  church,  and  introducing  episcopacy 
in  masquerade.     1   have  seen  a  print  representing   a 
parson  grasping  at  all  the  churches   in  his  view;  but 
were  I  possessed  of  the  genius  of  a  Raphael  or  a  Mi- 
chel Angelo,  I  would  draw  the  figure  of  an  annexing 
heretor  scowling  at  all  the  churches  around  him,  and 
threatening  their  destruction.      If  ministers,  whose 
livings  are  already  almost  double  those  of  many  of 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  43 

therr  brethren,  are  allowed-  to  hope  for  further  in- 
crease of  them  by  the  destruction  of  th^ir  neigh- 
bours, we  may  soon  expect  to  hear  of  annexations 
projected  by  ministers,  and  some  are  already  talked 
of  in  this  neighbourhood.  We  have  had  already 
four  annexations  in  Ihis  presbytery  since  the  Refor- 
mation, and  we  have  now  as  many  non-jurant  meet- 
ings. Some  of  these  annexations  have  been  attended 
with  great  inconveniences.  By  one  of  them,  in  the 
hill  country,  the  parish  is  rendered  more  than  seven 
Scots  miles  in  length;  so  that  some  people  do  not  at- 
tend the  church  from  tiieir  baptism  till  their  marriage. 
By  another  of  them  the  minister  is  obliged  to  ride 
three  miles  in  bad  road  every  second  Sabbath. 
Such  are  the  blessed  fruits  of  annexation;  but  we 
complain  not  of  what  has  been  done  according  to  law. 
The  assembly  ought  to  be  more  suspicious  of  this 
project  of  annexation,  as  this  is  a  disaffected  country, 
where  there  are  too  many  that  would  wish  to  see  all 
our  churches  suppressed,  and  this  annexation  must 
soon  be  followed  by  many  others.  If  the  law  does 
not  secure  every  sufficient  living  from  annexation, 
our  establishment  can  stand  only  till  the  necessary 
processes  for  its  ruin  are  completed. 

"  I  must  likewise  beg  leave  to  call  the  attention- af 
the  house  to  this  cause,  on  account  of  the  too  great 
passiveness  of  ministers  and  inferior  judicatures  in 
matters  of  annexation.  Of  this  the  assembly  was 
formerly  so  sensible,  that  by  act  5,  ass.  174G,  sess.  9, 
they  expressly  ^  discharged  all  presbyteries  to  con- 
sent to,  or  connive  at  the  annexation  or  suppressing 
of  parishes,  without  the  consent  or  approbation  of  the 
synod  of  the   bounds,   or  the  general  assembly," 


44  MEMOIR  OP  DR.  NISEET. 

The  present  cause  evinces,  that  it  is  possible  for  here- 
tors  to  persuade  a  presbytery,  and  even  a  synod,  that 
the  suppression  of  a  parish  church  is  for  the  good  of 
the  community,  because  it  may  promote  the  tempo- 
ral interest  of  some  individuals,  and  give  hopes  of  like 
gain  to  others.  Amazing  indeed  must  have  been 
the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Habakkuk  Slj^boots,  who  could 
persuade  a  man  to  hang  himself  in  cold  blood.  The 
present  cause  exhibits  no  less  a  prodigy — churchmen 
convinced  that  the  destruction  of  parishes  is  for  the 
good  of  the  national  church.  Such  is  the  v^onderful 
influence  of  heretors!  When  inferior  judicatories 
are  become  thus  weak  and  slavish,  and  in  the  interest 
of  our  adversaries,  it  must  become  the  wisdom  of 
this  house  to  put  a  stop  to  these  proceedings,  by  re- 
versing the  acts  of  the  presbytery  and  synod  com- 
plained of,  and  opposing  the  projected  annexation, 
and  all  such  illegal  attempts  against  our  establish- 
ment. 

"  Thus,  Sir,  I  have  stated  tolhe  assembly  this  cause, 
which  is  properly  the  cause  of  the  whole  church. 
Self-preservation  should  teach  us  to  defend  ourselves 
as  long  as  we  can.  Est  enim  hsec  non  scripta,  sed 
nata  lex,  quam  non  didicimus,  accepimus,  legi- 
tnus^fed  ex  ipsa  natura  arripX'dmus,  hausimus, 
expressimus.  I  hope  the  house  will  see,  that  the 
present  project  is  only  a  branch  of  a  design  against 
the  whole  church,  and  demands  your  strictest  atten- 
tion. What  is  now  the  case  of  this  small  parish, 
may  soon  be  that  of  many  others.  Nam  tua  res 
agitur,  paries  cum  yroximus  ardet.  It  is  true  to 
a  proverb,  multis  minatur,  uni  qui  injuriam  fa- 
cit.     No  reason  can   be  pleaded  for  the  suppression 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  45 

of  this  parish,  which  does  not  militate  with  equal 
force  against  a  hundred  others.  It  is  not  wonderful, 
that  the  enemies  of  our  happy  establishment  should 
be  zealous  and  active  in  promoting  non-jurant  meet- 
ings; but  10  suppress  established  churches  to  make 
room  for  them  is  rather  too  much.  Some  may  be 
averse  to  believe,  that  our  church  should  be  in  dan- 
ger from  attempts  of  this  sort;  but  if  present  instan- 
ces are  less  clear,  the  records  of  past  times  will  prove 
beyond  doubt,  that  the  like  practices  have  been  for- 
merly used  by  the  enemies  of  the  church.  We  find 
in  the  records  of  the  Concilium  Byzacenum,  that 
annexation  was  one  of  the  methods  employed,  during 
the  Arian  persecution,  for  the  destruction  and  extir- 
pation of  the  Catholics;  and  in  latter  times,  before 
the  formal  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  the 
churches  of  the  Protestants  were  taken  from  them 
in  sundr}'  places,  on  the  pretence  of  their  being  Uii- 
necessary.  The  policy  of  our  enemies,  and  their 
present  situation  by  our  laws,  does  not  permit  them 
at  once  to  show  the  cloven  foot,  or  tell  us  that  they 
design  our  destruction;  but  if  we  are  not  extremely 
blind,  we  may  easily  discern  the  drift  of  their  designs, 
Their  interest  is  to  proceed  by  silent  sap  and'  machi- 
nation, and  especially  to  make  use  of  some  of  us  to 
ruin  the  rest.  Much,  alas!  has  been  done  this  way 
already  through  their  influence,  by  driving  away  the 
people  from  the  churches;  and  because  that  method 
does  not  succeed  fast  enough  for  their  wishes,  it 
seems  that  what  remains  of  our  ruin  is  to  be  accom- 
plished by  taking  away  the  churches  from  the  peo- 
ple. The  design  in  hand  is  visibly  contrived  for 
your  deslraction,  by  annihilating  your  parishes  oae 


46  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

by  one.  What  a  dismal  prospect  for  this  church! 
Quid  facerent  hosles  capta  crudelius  iirbe?  By 
an  invasion  of  foreign  enemies  our  possessions  might 
be  ruined,  and  our  churches  burnt;  but  shall  we 
stand  by  and  see  the  same  thing  done  by  our  coun- 
trymen in  time  of  peace,  and  under  colour  of  law? 
Shall  our  venerable  and  ancient  constitution,  which 
has  resisted  so  long  the  attempts  of  persecutors,  and 
stood  the  shock  of  two  rebellions,  be  gradually  sub- 
verted by  the  covert  machinations  of  the  church 
and  state?  Shall  we  be  reduced  to  take  up  the  poet's 
lamentation, 

"  Captiq  ;   dolis  lacrymisq  ;   coacti, 


Quos  71071  Tydides,  nee  LaJ^issans  Achilles, 
JVo?i  a7i7u  dofniiei^e  decern,  no7i  mille  carinoe" 

"  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  some  of  the  real 

friends  of  our  establishment  are  found  among  the  pro- 
moters of  this  annexation,  as  it  is  common  to  see 
such  overreached  and  blindfolded  by  their  adversa- 
ries. Few  have  ever  been  betrayed  except  by  their 
friends.  I  have  done  my  duty  in  warning  you  of 
your  danger;  I  have  shown  you  the  Pretender's 
soldiers  actually  at  work  upon  your  church,  with 
the  axes  and  haminers  of  annexation  and  demembra- 
tion. It  remains  that  you  do  your  duty  by  defend- 
ing it  to  the  utmost.  If  you  can  stand  tamely  by, 
while  your  enemies  are  so  busy,  you  will  fall  de- 
spised and  unpitied,  as  your  ruin  will  be  of  your- 
selves. Every  wise  woman  buihleth  her  house,  but 
the  foolish  plucketh  it  down  with  her  hands!  If  the  as- 
sembly give  their  consent  to  this  annexation,  the  con- 
sequence must  be  the  instant  ruin  of  many  parishes; 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  47 

but  if  they  vigorously  support  the  interest  of  the 
church  by  opposing  it,  and  reversing  the  sentences 
of  the  Presbj'tery  and  Synod,  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  principal  party  interested  in  this  cause 
is  so  worthy  a  person,  and  so  much  a  friend  to  this 
church,  that,  in  respect  to  the  authority  of  this  house, 
he  will  desist  from  the  attempt,  nnd  the  little  under- 
strappers of  Jacobite  polities  will  be  hindered  from 
accomplishing  their  wicked  designs. 

"  But  if,  after  all,  this  annexation  shall  be  carried 
into  execution,  with  or  without  the  consent  of  the 
Assembly,  I  find  myself  unable  to  express  my  ap- 
prehensions for  our  whole  establishment,  and  there- 
fore shall  conclude  in  the  words  of  a  celebrated  au- 
thor,* who  is  an  ornament  to  the  present  age: 

"*No  oppression  is  so  heavy  or  lasting  as  that 
which  is  inflicted  by  the  perversion  and  exorbitance 
of  legal  authority:  the  robber  may  be  seized,  and  the 
invader  repelled  whenever  they  are  found;  they 
who  pretend  no  right  but  that  of  force  may  by  force 
be  punished  or  suppressed:  but  when  plunder  bears 
the  name  of  impost,  and  murder  is  perpetrated  by  a 
judicial  sentence,  Fortitude  is  intimidated,  and  Wis- 
dom confounded;  Resistance  shrinks  from  an  alli- 
ance with  Rebellion,  and  the  villain  remains  secure 
in  the  robes  of  the  magistrate.'  " 

The  Editor  of  the  London  Magazine,  after  giving 
this  speech  at  length,  adds:  "  Though  Principal  Ro- 
bertson^ and  several  more  of  the  court  luminaries, 
spoke  warml}^  in  favour  of  the  annexation,  the  Ge- 
neral Assembly,  by  a  great  majority,  reversed  the 

♦  "Rambler,  No.  145,  vol.  iii.  p.  227." 


48  MEMOIR    OP    Dl.    NISBET. 

sentence  of  which  Mr.  Nisbet  complained,  and,  for 
once,  the  force  of  eloquence  was  visibly  exemplified." 
The  scond  specimen  of  Mr.  Nisbet's  eloquence  in 
the  General  Assembly,  is  found  in  a  speech  which 
he  delivered  in  that  Body,  in  1772.  This  speech 
was  occasioned  by  an  appeal  from  the  Synod  of  »/?n- 
gKS  and  Mearns,  which  had  affirmed  a  sentence  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Fo)^dii)i,  settling,  or  inducting 
Mr.  John  BrymeVy  as  Minister  of  Marykirk.  The 
original  charge  was,  that  the  presentation  of  Mr. 
Brymer  to  the  parish,  was  effected  by  an  act  of  Si- 
mony. This  charge  was  set  aside,  and  the  settle- 
ment ordered  to  proceed,  by  the  Presbytery,  and 
afterwards  by  the  Synod.  The  whole  subject  was 
brought  by  appeal  before  the  General  Assembly. 
On  the  trial  of  this  appeal,  Mr.  Nisbet,  on  behalf  of 
the  appellants,  made  the  following  Speech: 

"  Moderator, ^^ 

"  I  appear  not  at  your  bar  as  a  party,  but  as  a 
member  of  an  inferior  court,  warranted  by  the  con- 
stitution of  this  church  to  complain  of  a  decision 
of  my  superiors.  The  right  of  dissent  and  com- 
plaint is  competent  to  every  member  of  this  church, 
and  I  hope  that  my  using  it  in  the  present  case  will 
not  deprive  me  of  the  character  of  a  peaceable  mem- 
ber. It  gives  me  pleasure  to  reflect,  that  in  this 
complaint  I  am  not  alone,  but  that  many  worthy 
ministers  voted  as  I  did,  and  the  most  worthy  and 
respectable  member  of  our  Synod  joined  my  dissent. 

"  The  sentence  I  am  to  complain  of  is,  in  my 
opinion,  and  I  hope  to  make  it  appear  to  this  house, 
contrary  to  the  word  of  God,  to  common  sense,  and 


I 


HIS   MINISTRY    IN   SCOTLAND.  49 

th^  express  laws  of  this  church.  This  cause  has  been 
urged  into  an  early  diet  of  this  assembly,  on  account 
of  its  relating  to  the  moral  character  of  a  minister. 
In  my  opinion,  it  is  of  infinitely  greater  importance 
than  the  character  of  any  individual.  On  the  deci- 
sion which  you  must  give  in  this  cause,  the  moral 
character  of  this  churcli  and  its  assemblies  immedi- 
ately depends;  and  it  must  be  evident,  by  your  con- 
duct this  day,  whether  piety,  learning,  and  prudence 
shall  be  the  necessary  requisites  in  the  clerical  cha- 
racter, or  merely  the  possession  of  a  littls  money. 
To  give  the  house  a  full  view  of  this  cause,  I  shall 
first  give  a  brief  narrative  of  the  whole  procedure, 
taking  notice  of  sundry  irregularities  committed  in 
the  course  of  it,  and  lastly  set  forth  the  proofs  of 
simony  against  this  presentee,  which  ought  to  set 
aside  his  settlement,  had  it  been  ever  so  regularly 
and  formally  conducted. 

"  To  begin  with  the  narrative.  It  is  well  known 
that  sundry  years  ago,  the  King's  college  of  Aber- 
deen exposed  to  public  sale,  by  way  of  auction,  in 
consequence  of  an  advertisement  in  the  public  papers, 
the  patronage  of  sixteen  churches  then  in  their  gift, 
of  which  that  of  this  parish  of  Marykirk  was  one. 
At  said  auction,  one  Brymer,  an  innkeeper  at  Mar- 
nock-kirk,  in  Banffshire,  father  to  the  now  presentee, 
became  purchaser  of  the  patronage  of  Marykirk, 
having  previously  paid  a  visit  to  the  incumbent,  to 
enable  him  to  judge  what  price  he  might  venture  to 
give  for  it.  As  it  was  known  at  the  time  of  the  sale 
that  this  Brymer  had  a  son,  the  now  presentee,  then 
prosecuting  the  study  of  divinity,  no  one  needed  to  be 
told  that  this  purchase  was  intended  for  his  benefit, 
5 


50  MEMOIRS    OF    DR.    NISBET, 

and  in  this  view  it  appeared  new  and  strange  to  all 
that  heard  of  it;  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  said 
patron,  on  viewing  the  strength  and  healthy  look  of 
the  incumbent,  declared  that  he  might  probably  live 
almost  as  long  as  his  son,  and  that  instead  of  300^. 
which  the  college  had  asked,  he  would  venture  no 
more  than  200/. 

"  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Thomson,  minister  of  Mary- 
kirk,  Brymer,  now  patron  by  the  articles  of  the  roup, 
issues  his  presentation  to  his  son,  the  now  presentee, 
concealing  however  his  relation  to  himself.  When 
this  presentation  came  into  the  country,  the  parish- 
ioners of  Marykirk,  astonished  to  see  themselves 
bought  and  sold,  as  to  their  spiritual  interests,  by 
those  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  protected  them, 
were  alarmed  for  their  safety;  but  expected  that  the 
laws  of  this  church  would  prevent  such  a  scandalous 
bargain  from  being  carried  into  execution.  With 
this  view,  some  of  the  elders,  the  now  appellants, 
attended  the  meeting  of  the  presbytery  of  Fordoun, 
when  it  was  expected  that  this  new  presentation 
would  make  its  appearance.  But  the  members,  be- 
ing already  gained  by  the  patron's  friends,  gave 
them  no  opportunity  of  objecting  against  it.  The 
presentation  was  given  in,  read,  and  sustained  in  a 
whisper — a  practice  that  seems  borrowed  from  the 
privy  council  of  the  kings  of  Brentford. 

"  A  meeting  of  presbytery  was  appointed  for  the 
moderation  of  a  call,  at  which  the  heretors  (though 
only  one  of  them  is  of  the  communion  of  this  church) 
appeared,  and  gave  their  consent  to  the  settlement 
of  the  presentee,  having  used  all  endeavours,  by 
threats,  promises,  &c.  to  prevail  on  their  tenants  and 


HIS   MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  51 

dependants  to  sign  the  call.  The  parishioners  had 
employed  a  notary  to  appear  for  them,  and  to  pro- 
pose objections  against  the  settlement;  but  as  in  this 
slavish  country  no  notary  of  character  could  be  got 
to  appear  against  gentlemen  of  property,  for  fear  of 
their  resentment,  the  parishioners  were  obliged  to 
employ  one  given  to  drinking,  who,  being  plied  by 
the  heretors'  agents,  was  soon  rendered  incapable  of 
conducting  their  business  properly.  However,  he 
got  access  to  the  presbytery,  gave  in  his  letters  of 
proxy,  and  objected  against  sustaining  the  call,  on 
account  of  its  being  signed  only  by  the  heretors,  and 
a  few  of  the  lowest  of  the  people;  and  on  the  pres- 
bytery's sustaining  it,  he  appealed  to  the  ensuing 
synod,  and  gave  in  his  reasons:  but  the  presbytery 
having  adjourned  to  a  blind  ale-house  along  with  the 
heretors,  refused  to  take  in  his  reasons,  or  give 
an  extract  of  their  sentence,  and  appointed  a  day 
for  the  admission  of  the  presentee,  notwithstand- 
ing the  appeal,  which  it  seemed  they  intended  to 
smother.     They  dismissed  without  prayer. 

"  At  the  meeting  of  the  presbytery  for  the  admis- 
sion of  the  presentee,  the  parishioners  procured  an 
agent  from  a  distance,  who  gave  in  objections  against 
the  presentee  in  form  of  a  libel,  and  referred  himself 
to  the  presentee's  oath  for  proof  of  his  assertions. 
His  objections  were  overruled,  his  libel  refused  to 
be  admitted  to  proof:  on  which  he  appealed  to  the 
ensuing  synod,  and  the  presentee  was  admitted  in  the 
face  of  the  appeal,  and  amidst  the  tears  and  groanS 
of  the  congregation.  One  of  the  parishioners  object- 
ing to  the  presentee's  doctrine,  and  endeavouring  to 
support  his  objections  from  the  scriptures,  one  of  the 


52  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

heretors,  standing  in  a  gallery  above,  aimed  a  push 
at  him  with  a  pike-staff,  which  drove  his  Bible  out 
of  his  hand,  and  pierced  through  the  whole  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles;  which  obliged  the  poor  man 
to  drop  his  argument,  and  to  escape  for  his  life. 

"  The  parishioners,  however,  rested  on  their  ap- 
peal to  the  synod,  notwithstanding  every  method 
was  used  to  intimidate  and  distress  them,  especially 
by  a  committee  of  the  presbytery,  who  procured  an 
order  from  the  sheriff  of  the  county  to  the  kirk  trea- 
surer, to  deliver  up  the  poor's  box  to  the  presentee 
without  receipt,  under  the  pain  of  instant  imprison- 
ment; which  order,  however,  upon  proper  represen- 
tations, was  at  last  recalled. 

"  Before  the  meeting  of  synod,  commissions  of 
array  were  issued  by  the  heretors,  and  sent  by  the 
presentee  to  many  members  of  the  synod,  summon- 
ing them,  under  the  pain  of  their  high  displeasure, 
to  attend  that  court,  and  support  the  presentee,  which 
is  the  common  way  of  conducting  synod  business  in 
this  country.  At  this  meeting  of  synod,  though 
packed  and  summoned  by  the  influence  of  the  here- 
tors, the  presbytery's  sentence  was  affirmed  by  a 
majority  of  a  few  votes  only,  and  the  cause  now 
waits  the  decision  of  this  court. 

"  To  enumerate  all  the  irregularities  committed  in 
the  dependance  of  this  cause  before  the  presbytery 
would  be  an  endless  task.  The  very  orders  of  the 
presentee  were  irregular.  He  had  been  ordained 
some  time  bel^ore  by  the  presbytery  of  Sirathbogie, 
ad  ministerium  vagum,  without  any  parochial 
charge,  to  avoid  the  examination  of  the  presbytery 
of  Fordoun  as  to  his  ministerial  talents;  and  of  this, 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  53 

that  presbytery  was  so  sensible,  that  they  brought 
an  overture  to  next  synod  for  preventing  the  like 
practice  in  time  coming.  To  ordain  a  clergyman 
without  a  title  or  charge  is  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
all  churches;  and  if  this  were  permitted,  it  were 
easy  to  prove  that  one  presbytery,  assisted  by  pa- 
trons, and  brokers  in  patronages,  might  furnish  minis- 
ters to  all  this  church,  of  whatever  characters  they 
pleased.  The  laws  of  our  church  appoint  ministers 
to  be  ordained  by  that  presbytery,  within  which  they 
are  to  have  a  parochial  charge,  unless  they  have  for- 
merly been  ordained  by  another  where  they  had  the 
like  concern.  But  our  laws  give  no  license  to  any 
presbytery  to  ordain  ministers  for  exportation;  in 
which  case  it  might  be  justly  suspected,  that  they 
would  be  the  more  careless  as  to  their  fitness  for  the 
office:  and  as  this  ordination  of  the  presetitee  was 
procured  after  the  purchase  of  the  patronage,  it  ap- 
pears to  be  a  branch  of  the  same  design,  and  in  the 
strongest  manner  to  infer  a  simonial  intention,  unless 
it  likewise  was  paid  for,  which  might  be  the  case  for 
any  thing  I  know.  Another  irregularity  is  the  pres- 
bytery's proceeding  to  admit  the  presentee  in  the 
face  of  an  appeal.  To  say  nothing  of  the  first  ap- 
peal, which  the  presbytery  aSect  to  deny,  and  have 
kept  out  of  their  minutes,  their  proceeding  in  the 
face  of  the  second  appeal  is  in  the  highest  degree 
irregular.  I  know  that  our  forms  allow  inferior 
church  courts  to  proceed  usque  ad  sententiam,  not- 
withstanding appeals;  but  to  execute  their  sentence 
in  the  face  of  an  appeal  is  such  a  stretch  of  lawless 
and  arbitrary  power,  as,  should  it  be  once  permitted, 
would  render  superior  courts  wholly  useless.  The 
5* 


54  MEMOIR    OP    DR.   NISBET. 

rights  of  appeal  have  been  reckoned  sacred  among  aJl 
nations,  and  have  been  religiously  regarded  even  in 
the  most  arbitrary  times.  The  great  Apostle  Paul, 
finding  himself  before  a  partial  judge,  appealed  to  the 
Roman  emperor;  but  it  was  the  apostle's  great  mercy 
that  he  never  met  with  such  judges  as  the  presby- 
tery of  Fordoun,  who,  as  it  is  evident  from  their 
conduct,  would  have  laughed  at  his  appeal.  These 
gentlemen  would  have  told  him,  '  No,  sir,  you  have 
no  right  to  appeal:  we  will  kill  you;  we  will  exe- 
cute our  sentence,  and  then  you  may  appeal  to  Caisar 
when  you  please.'  How  low  is  this  church  sunk 
in  point  of  character,  when  its  judges  want  the  pro- 
bity of  heathens,  and  the  integrity  of  infidels! 

"  Another  irregularity  in  this  business  is  the  want 
of  a  legal  call,  without  which,  according  to  our  con- 
stitution, no  relation  can  be  established  between  a 
minister  and  a  congregation.  As  to  the  call  of  here- 
tors,  who  are  not  members  of  our  church,  I  am 
ashamed  to  mention  it,  it  being  contrary  to  the  most 
obvious  dictates  of  common  sense,  that  persons 
should  be  callers  of  a  minister  who  are  never  to  have 
any  connexion  with  him,  nor  to  attend  his  ministry. 
It  has  this  additional  circumstance  of  aggravation  in 
it,  that  these  heretors  declared  under  their  hands 
that  they  committed  to  the  presentee  the  care  of  their 
souls,  and  promised  him  all  due  obedience  in  the 
Lord!  I  want  words  to  express  the  absurdity  and 
profanity  of  such  a  conduct,  especially  considering  it 
as  countenanced  and  allowed  by  a  presbytery  of  this 
church;  but  I  hope  that  the  gentlemen  concerned 
will  be  censured  for  it  by  their  own  bishops. 

"  Our  people,  sir,  never  intermeddle  with  elections 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  55 

of  Kpiscopal  ministers,  nor  renounce  the  communion 
of  this  church,  in  order  to  have  a  share  in  them;  and 
if  these  gentlemen  had  been  possessed  of  that  sense 
and  breeding  which  our  people  have  always  had,  they 
would  have  had  no  concern  in  these  matters.  Be- 
sides, sir,  these  gentlemen  are  totally  ignorant  of  our 
laws,  and  imagine  that  heretors  have  the  power  of 
ordination:  so  it  is  to  be  wished,  that  they  would 
confine  themselves  to  the  afifairs  of  their  elections, 
their  draught  horses  or  setting  dogs,  or  some  subject 
that  lies  level  to  their  understandings.  As  to  the 
few  people  of  the  communion  of  this  church  who 
have  signed  the  call,  they  were  obliged  to  it  by 
threats  and  concussion,  and  some  of  them  were  lite- 
rally beaten  by  their  worthy  masters.  It  was  a  mat- 
ter of  no  importance  to  the  heretors  who  was  minis- 
ter of  Marykirk,  as  they  were  to  have  no  concern 
with  him,  nor  to  attend  his  ministry;  but  it  was  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  the  parishioners  who  are 
members  of  this  church,  and  depend  for  edification 
and  spiritual  instruction  on  the  ministration  of  their 
parish  minister.  I  know  there  are  some  among  us 
who  pay  great  regard  to  the  consent  of  the  landed 
gentlemen,  as  such,  in  the  settlement  of  parishes; 
because  they  suppose  that  the  landed  interest  are  the 
supporters  of  the  church.  I  remember  but  one  time 
when  our  church  was  in  danger:  I  mean  in  the  late 
rebellion;  and  what  then  became  of  our  noble  friends? 
They  either  joined  the  pretender,  or  took  protection 
from  him,  or  ran  like  frighted  hares  to. the  border,  and 
liappy  was  the  man  that  could  get  first  to  London. 
Such  are  our  boasted  supporters!  But  as  the  ordi- 
aation  of  a  minister,  being  a  spiritual  transaction, 


56  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

has  no  relation  whatever  to  land,  it  is  evident  that 
the  proprietors  of  land,  as  such,  have  no  sort  of  inter- 
est in  it.  But  whatever  be  in  this  argument,  the 
parishioners  joined  issue  in  the  main  with  the  here- 
tors:  they  have  given  their  consent  that  the  presen- 
tee should  be  established  minister  at  Marykirk;  that 
is,  they  have  declared  that  he  is  a  minister  not  fit  for 
them  to  hear,  and  the  parishioners  are  exactly  of  the 
same  opinion. 

"But  to  come  to  the  grand  objection  against  this 
settlement,  to  wit,  simony:  this,  in  my  apprehen- 
sion, is  so  plain,  that  it  is  but  mere  wrangling  to  at- 
tempt to  deny  it.  Simony  is  defined  by  the  canon- 
ists, Studiosa  ciipiditas  emendi  aut  vendendi  spi- 
ritualia,  aut  spiritualihus  annexa.  This  crime 
may  be  committed  in  a  variety  of  forms,  and  may 
have  sundry  objects.  The  canonists  mention  sacra- 
ments, orders,  induction,  and  promotion;  but  the 
above  definition  comprises  the  essence  of  it.  It  is 
called  crimen  mere  ecclesiasticiiin,  and  to  the  com- 
mission of  it  three  parties  are  requisite,  the  seller, 
the  buyer,  and  the  accepter.  As  crimes  love  dis- 
guise, and  as  no  one  yet  has  been  hardy  enough  to 
present  himself  to  a  benefice,  it  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  simoniacal  presentee  will  get  some  friend  or 
relation  to  act  the  part  of  the  ostensible  patron,  as  in 
the  present  case;  but  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  in  the 
canons  against  this  crime,  the  vengeance  of  the  sen- 
tence falls  first  upon  the  accepter,  it  being  for  his 
account  that  the  bargain  is  made,  as  we  commonly 
say,  that  if  there  were  no  receipts,  there  would  be 
no  thieves.  This  crime  has  always  been  considered 
as  the  greatest  corruption,  and  forbidden  under  the 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  57 

pain  of  deposition  in  all  ages  of  the  church.  The 
first  ages  of  Christianity  knew  not  that  operose  dis- 
tinction and  precision,  which  have  become  necessary 
in  latter  ages  for  describing  this  crime.  The  story 
of  Simon  Magus,  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  was 
the  pattern  from  whence  Ihey  borrowed  their  no- 
tion of  it,  and  the  name  of  it.  The  most  ancient 
canons  depose  without  distinction  all  such  as  are  or- 
dained or  inducted  by  the  influence  of  money,  by 
whomsoever  given  or  however  artfully  concealed. 
The  canons  that  go  by  the  name  of  the  Apostles, 
though  not  quite  so  ancient,  are  plain  to  this  purpose. 
I  quote  Father  Caranza's  translation  of  them.  ^S** 
quis  episcopnSy  aiit  presbyter^  aut  diaconus 
per  pecunias  hanc  ohtinv.erit  dignitatem^  deji- 
ciatiir  ipse  et  ordinator  ejus,  et  a  communione 
modes  omnibus  abscindatur,  Jicut  Simon  Magus 
a  Petro.  Again,  in  the  second  council  of  Orleans, 
can.  4,  Si  quis  sacerdotium  per  pecuiuse  nundinum 
execrabile  ambitione  qusesierit,  abjiciatur  ut  re- 
probus,  quia  apostolica  sententia  donum,  Dei  esse 
prsecipit  pecunise  trutina  minime  comparandum. 
I  quote  these  decrees  of  councils,  and  could  quote 
many  more  to  the  same  purpose,  not  as  of  autho- 
rity in  this  church,  but  as  the  opinions  of  wise  and 
disinterested  men  in  the  earliest  times  of  the  church, 
and  they  deserve  great  regard  on  that  score.  You 
see  they  condemn  as  simoniacal  all  settlements  or  or- 
dination of  ministeis,  vvherof  money  is  the  procur- 
ing cause,  by  whomsoever  given,  and  however  the 
simoniacal  intention  may  be  covered;  and  it  is  a 
maxim  among  the  canonists,  authorised  by  common 
sense,  that  money  given  by  any  one  person  to  ano- 


58  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

ther,  with  the  view  of  getting  a  person  fixed  in  a 
pastoral  charge,  infers  simony  against  the  accepter 
of  said  charge,  unless  it  can  be  proved  that  it  was 
given  maliciously,  with  an  intent  to  procure  his 
deposition. 

*'  To  bring  home  this  doctrine  to  the  present  case, 
it  is  evident  that  money  is  the  sole  cause  of  Mr.  Bry- 
mer's  settlement.  The  sale  of  the  patronage  was 
public,  and  the  parties  known.  The  design  of  the 
father  to  provide  for  his  son  is  necessarily  inferred 
from  his  buying  the  patronage,  his  visit  to  Mr.  Thom- 
son before  the  purchase,  and  afterwards  actually  pre- 
senting his  son  to  the  benefice.  Can  the  simoniacal 
intention  be  clearer  in  any  supposable  case  than  in 
the  present  one?  It  is  not  denied  that  Brymer  the 
father  bought  the  patronage;  but  it  is  said,  that  it  does 
not  appear  that  he  intended  it  for  his  son,  and  conse- 
quently here  is  no  simony.  I  could  peril  the  whole 
cause  upon  this  single  point:  if  any  gentleman  of  cha- 
racter will  stand  up  and  give  his  oath,  that  he  be- 
lieves in  his  conscience  that  the  father  had  no  inten- 
tion of  this  sort,  I  here  give  up  my  argument;  but  I 
find  this  challenge  will  not  be  accepted.  Intention 
is  the  soul  of  all  crimes;  but  as  it  is  not  visible  of  it- 
self, nor  will  be  owned  by  the  accused  party,  it  must 
be  inferred  from  overt  acts:  and  in  the  present  case 
a  man  has  no  need  of  being  a  conjuror  to  determine 
positively,  that  Brymer  the  patron  purchased  this 
benefice  solely  as  a  provision  for  his  son,  and  for  his 
emolument  allenarly.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  that 
a  candidate  will  purchase  a  patronage  openly  by  him- 
self, in  order  to  manifest  his  simoniacal  intention,  and 
facilitate  his  conviction;  and  there  is  no  person  so 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLiND.  59 

bad,  or  so  insignificant,  as  not  to  have  a  friend  or 
relation  to  make  the  bargain  for  them,  and  fulfil  their 
intention.     Simony,  like  other  crimes,  will  always 
affect  to  be  under  cover;   but  in  the  present  case  the 
cover  is  so  thin  and  transparent,  that  none  can  be  de- 
ceived by  it,  except  those  who  have  a  mind  to  be  de- 
ceived.    A  father,  of  the  rank  of  an  innkeeper,  has  a 
son  following  the  study  of  divinity,  and  buys  the  pa- 
tronage of  a  benefice.    Can  it  be  believed  by  any  per- 
son of  common  sense,  that  he  had  no  intention  to  pre- 
sent his  son  to  it,  or  that  his  son  knew  nothing  of  the 
transaction?     I  can  only  say  that  every  man,  woman 
and  child,  in  the  country  where  I  live,  knew  the  con- 
trary in  the  present  case.     A  father  must  be  concern- 
ed to  provide  for  his  own  son:  on  account  of  his  near 
relation  to  him  he  must  be  prejudiced  in  his  favour, 
cannot  be  a  judge  of  his  qualifications.     A  patron 
exercises  a  judgment  in  the  choice  of  his  patentee, 
and  there  is  in  every  presentation  an  explicit  delec- 
tus personas  for  his  fitness  real  or  supposed;   but  in 
the  present  case  no  judgment  could  be  exercised,  and 
no  deliberation  could  have  place,  on  account  of  the 
near  relation  betwixt  the  patron  and  presentee.     As  a 
father  cannot  be  the  judge  of  his  own  son,  nor  a  wit- 
ness for  him,  so  by  parity  of  reason  he  cannot  be  his 
patron.  Nor  is  this  a  new  notion.  The  tenth  council  of 
Toledo,  in  their  third  canon,  expressly  inhibits  pre- 
lates, who  were  then  the  only  patrons,  from  present- 
ing their  relations,  or  even  their  dependants,  to  any 
benefice  in  their  gift.    The  canon  is  entitled,  Contra 
episcopos  qui  monasteriis  vel  ecclesiis  consangui- 
neos,  vel  sibi  faventes  prxjiciu7it,  and  runs  thus: 
%^gnovimus  enim   quosdam    pontijices   praecepti 


60  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  NlSBilT. 

principiis   aposfolorum  (qui  ait,  Pascite  qui  in 
vobis  est  gregem,  non  coacte,  sed  spontanee,  neque 
vi  dominantes  in  clero^  ^c.J  ita  esse  immemores, 
ut  quibusdam  monasteriis  parochialihxisque  eccle- 
siis,  aid  suae  consanguinitatis  personas,  aut  sui 
favoris  participes,  ifiiquuni  saspe  statuant  in  prse- 
laturarn,  ita  illis providentur  commoda  inhonesta, 
ut  aut  eisdem  deserantur  quae  propria  episcopodari 
Justus  ordo  depoposcerit,  aut  quae  rapere  deputati 
exactoris  violentia  poterit.    Proinde  placuit  nobis 
Sf  in  prxsenti  tale  rescindere  factum,  fy  non  esse 
de  caetero  faciendum.     Nam  quisque pontificium 
deinceps  aut  sanguine  propinquis  aut  favor  e  per- 
sonis  quibuscunque  sibi  coiijunctis  talia  cotnmen- 
dare  lucra  tcntaverit,  ad suum  nefandae  praesum,p- 
tionis  excidium,  et  quod  jussum  fuerit,  devoce- 
tur  in  irritum,  ^  qui  ordinavit,  annuse  excommu- 
nicationi  subjaceat.     Further,  in  a  synod  assembled 
at  London,  anno  1171,  can.  9.     *Let  none  transfer 
a  church  to  another  in  the  name  of  a  portion,  or  take 
any  money  or  covenanted  gain  for  the  presentation 
of  any  one.     He  that  is  guilty,  by  conviction  or  con- 
fession, is  for  ever  deprived  of  the  patronage  of  that 
church  by  the  king's  authority  and  ours.'     I  own  * 
that  the  practice  of  buying  and  selling  benefices  is 
tolerated   in  the  neighbouring  church   of  England, 
though  no  less  contrary  to  the  laws  of  that  church 
than  of  this;  and  there  every  presentee  is  obliged  to 
take  a  tremendous  oath  against  simony,  bearing  that 
neither  he   himself,  nor  his  friends,  have  purchased 
the  benefice  on  his  account.     All  good  men  in  the 
church  of  England  have  lamented  and  abhorred  this 
practice,  as  contrary  to  Christianity,  and  lending  to 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  61 

the  utter  corruption  of  the  clerical  order,  and  its 
fruits  have  been  answerable  to  their  apprehensions. 
But  simony  cannot  be  more  expressly  forbidden  in 
any  church  than  in  ours.  By  three  several  acts  of 
assembly  in  1753,  1757,  and  1759,  it  is  declared  to 
infer  deposition  in  a  minister,  and  forfeiture  of  li- 
cense to  a  probationer,  to  bargain  with  the  patron  or 
his  friends,  either  by  themselves,  or  by  their  friends, 
with  or  without  their  knowledge,  or  to  give  or  pro- 
mise any  reward  whatever  to  the  patron  or  his  friends, 
in  consideration  of  his  settlement,  or  to  fulfil  any 
such  bargain  when  made,  or  to  conceal  it  when 
brought  to  his  knowledge;  and  presbyteries  are  re- 
quired to  proceed  to  the  sentence  of  deposition  in  all 
the  cases  above  specified,  or  when  any  simoniacal 
paction  or  practice  is  used  by  any  person  whatever 
in  consideration  of  a  particular  settlement.  It  is 
most  childish  reasoning  to  allege,  as  has  been  done 
on  the  other  side,  that  because  the  buying  of  rights 
of  patronage  is  not  expressly  mentioned  in  these  acts, 
therefore  such  purchase  cannot  infer  simony.  These 
acts  specify  all  the  modes  of  simony  that  had  fallen 
under  the  consideration  of  the  assembly  at  that  time; 
and  as  they  comprehend  and  mention  much  lesser 
degrees  of  the  crime  of  simony  than  that  of  buying 
the  patronage  of  a  benefice,  can  it  be  believed  by  any 
person  in  his  senses,  that  such  merchandize  is  not  as 
much,  and  indeed  more  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  these 
laws,  than  the  buying  of  a  presentation?  If  it  is  si- 
mony by  our  laws,  as  no  one  doubts,  for  a  candidate  to 
purchase  from  the  patron  one  single  vicey  can  it  be  less 
so  to  purchase  the]  patronage  absolutely,  or  that  the 
candidate  himself  should  become  patron  in  the  person 
6 


62  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBST. 

of  his  friend?  Common  sense  revolts  at  the  men- 
tion of  so  absurd  a  distinction.  The  assembly  will 
be  pleased  to  attend  a  moment  to  the  consequence  of 
such  transactions.  If  they  are  permitted  to  go  on, 
persons  of  the  most  infamous  characters,  destitute  of 
every  ministerial  talent,  if  possessed  only  of  a  little 
money,  and  the  favour  of  a  single  presbytery,  may 
purchase  any  benefice  in  this  kingdom.  It  is  well 
known  that  a  person  who  a  few  years  ago  appeared 
as  a  tumbler  in  several  towns  in  Scotland,  has  pur- 
chased a  benefice  of  considerable  revenue  in  the  west 
of  England,  and  it  may  be  expected  that  tumblers  of 
inferior  reputation  will  soon  purchase  into  our  church 
in  the  same  manner.  How  venerable  would  this  as- 
sembly appear  to  the  public,  if  we  had  seen  one  half 
of  its  members  with  their  heels  upwards!  We  see 
already  that  there  are  patrons  ready  enough  to  sell 
their  patronages  to  candidates  or  their  friends,  as 
often  as  they  can  make  a  penny  by  the  bargain.  The 
King's  college  of  Aberdeen  has  set  a  noble  example 
to  the  rest,  so  that  we  may  soon  find  more  instances 
of  this  kind.  That  learned  body,  fired  by  the  noble 
love  of  wealth  that  animates  most  of  our  modern  lite- 
rati, have  openly  set  to  sale  the  sacred  trust  reposed 
in  their  ancestors.  Money  is  the  principal  thing, 
therefore  get  nioney:  this  seems  to  have  been  their 
maxim.  I  shall  not  repeat  what  a  learned  gentleman 
has  just  now  observed  as  to  the  stomachs  of  literary 
men;  but  to  avoid  offence,  I  shall  read  a  short  quota- 
tion from  an  eminent  author,  which  I  find  acciden- 
tally among  my  notes.  ^  Such  is  the  state  of  the 
world,  that  the  most  obsequious  of  the  slaves  of  pride, 
the  most  rapturous  of  the  gazers  upon  wealth,  the 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  63 

most  officious  of  the  whisperers  of  greatness,  are  col- 
lected from  seminaries  appropriated  to  the  study  of 
wisdom  and  virtue,  where  it  was  intended  that  appe- 
tite should  learn  to  he  content  with  little,  [here  in- 
deed is  something  relating  to  their  stomachs]  and 
that  hope  should  aspire  only  to  honours  which  no 
human  power  can  give  or  take  away.'  Rambler, 
No.  180. 

"  By  the  laws  of  our  church,  sir,  a  candidate  for  the 
ministry  is  obliged  to  undergo  a  long  and  laborious 
course  of  study,  and  to  maintain  a  d-ecent  and  irre- 
proachable character.  He  must  be  certified  by  a 
professor  of  divinity,  and  examined  carefully  by  a 
presbytery,  before  he  obtains  license  to  preach,  and 
when  presented  to  any  particular  charge,  must  under- 
go a  new  trial  before  that  presbytery  in  whose  bounds 
the  charge  lies,  before  he  is  ordained  a  minister;  and 
at  his  ordination  all  persons  are  called  upon  to  pro- 
duce, if  they  can,  any  accusation  against  his  life  and 
doctrine.  So  anxious  is  our  church  for  the  purity 
of  the  clerical  character,  and  their  being  possessed  of 
proper  talents  for  the  ministry,  that  their  whole  set- 
tlement is  made  to  turn  upon  that:  But  how  differ- 
ent a  course  has  been  followed  by  this  presentee;  and 
if  allowed,  will  be  followed  by  other  candidates!  If 
this  settlement  is  affirmed,  persons  without  learning, 
piety,  or  moral  character,  need  only  get  the  favour 
of  any  particular  presbytery,  which  will  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  be  found,  and  get  themselves  ordained  ad  mi- 
nisterium  vagurti;  and  then,  if  they  have  but  a  little 
money,  or  can  get  credit  for  it  till  the  benefice  be- 
comes vacant,  they  will  find  patrons  to  sell  them 
their  right,  or  to  seem  to  sell  it  them  till  their  turn 


64 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 


is  served.     I  readily  allow  that  simony  is  the  natu- 
ral offspring  of  patronage,  as  that  is  of  the  mother  of 
harlots  and  abominations  of  the  earth;  but  it  must  be 
evident  to  every  person  of  common  sense,  that  if  the 
settlement  in  question  is  affirmed,  nothing  but  the 
v\^ant  of  money  will  be  able  to  prevent  the  most  in- 
famous and  unfit  persons  from  becoming  ministers  of 
this  church.     Every   minister  at  his  ordination  is 
obliged  to  declare  solemnly,  and  as  in  the  presence 
of  God,  that  he  has  not  used  any  undue  methods  to 
procure   his   settlement,   either  by    himself  or  his 
friends.     And  when   this   declaration   is   made  by 
those  in  the  circumstances  of  the  present  presentee, 
as  it  has  been  made  by  him,  it  must  put  an  end  to 
their  moral  character  instead  of  establishing  it.  When 
a  person  begins  his  ministry  with  such  a  solemn 
prevarication,   not  to  say  perjury,  what  edification 
or  profit  to  the  church  may  be  reaped  from  his  mi- 
nistry   may  be  easily  imagined.     In   controversies 
about  settlements,   the   opposers  of  presentees  are 
often  reviled  on  account  of  their  rank  in  life;  they 
are  represented  as  illiterate  vulgar,  incapable  of  judg- 
ing of  the  talents  and  qualifications  of  ministers;  but 
it  seems  patronage  sanctifies  every  thing,  and,  like 
the  popish  sacraments,  confers  grace,  and  sense,  and 
wisdom.     Had  this  innkeeper,  who  is  now  the  pa- 
tron, been  an  inhabitant  of  the  parish  of  Marykirk, 
and  an  opposer  of  this  presentee,  those  who  are  now 
his  friends  would  have  held  him  in  the  utmost  deri- 
sion; but  by  his  becoming  patron,  he  immediately 
commences  wise,  just,  and   infallible;   so  mighty  a 
thing  is  it  to  have  credit  for  two  hundred  pounds,  in 
the  opinion  of  some  men.     I  cannot  look  upon  this 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLiND.  65 

patron  in  the  same  light  with  any  other  patron.  His 
right  was  a  fresh  purchase,  with  a  visible  design  to 
provide  for  a  son,  whether  qualified  for  the  ministry 
or  not;  and  it  appears  by  this  transaction,  that  the 
presentee's  father  thouoht  as  meanly  of  his  son's 
talents  as  any  of  his  opposers  do.  If  he  had  thought 
that  his  son  had  as  much  merit  as  would  recommend 
him  to  any  patron  or  parish  whatever,  he  would 
never  have  parted  with  200/.  to  provide  him  in  a 
settlement.  No  application  was  made  to  this  patron, 
as  is  always  the  case  with  others;  because  his  inten- 
tion of  conveying  it  to  his  son  was  known  to  every 
person  from  the  time  of  the  purchase.  If  it  is  said, 
that  no  simoniacal  intention  appears,  I  answer,  that 
it  appears  as  clearly  as  any  criminal  intention  can 
ever  be  supposed  to  appear.  May  we  not  as  fairly 
and  legally  infer  the  simoniacal  intention  from  the 
circumstance  of  the  purchase,  and  the  settlement  fol- 
lowing upon  it,  as  the  lords  of  justiciary,  in  cases  of 
murder,  infer  the  animus  injuriandij  or  criminal 
intention,  from  the  overt  acts  and  behaviour  of  the 
pannel?  And  if  this  is  not  admitted,  no  criminal 
vvhatever  can  be  condemned,  as  all  crimes  consist  in 
intention.  If  this  transaction  has  all  the  circum- 
stances, appearances  and  consequences  of  a  simonia- 
cal transaction,  as  it  must  be  owned  it  has,  why  in 
the  name  of  common  sense  is  it  to  be  called  by  any 
other  name?  At  this  rate,  a  man  might  believe  tran- 
substantiation  itself,  and  hold  that  accidents  can  sub- 
sist without  a  substance/' 

"  In  a  word,  you  must  either  find  this  settlement 
simoniacal,  or  declare  that  simony  never  was  nor  can 
be  committed  by  any  j>erson.     If  these  things  go  on, 
6» 


66  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

you  may  soon  expect  to  see  your  churches  filled 
with  useless  and  immoral  clergymen.  If  money  is 
sufficient  to  give  a  right,  patrons  will  be  found  ready 
to  sell,  and  candidates  to  buy.  What  need  have  we 
of  probity  or  character,  if  money  does  quite  as  well? 
What  need  have  we  of  professors  of  divinity,  except 
to  cry  out,  O  cives!  cives!  quserenda  pecunia  pri- 
?num  est;  and  if  clandestine  ordinations  in  distant 
presbyteries  are  allowed,  they  need  not  add,  Virtus 
post  nummos.  Your  churches  will  be  res  m  com- 
merciOj  and  patronages  transacted  at  fairs  and  mar- 
kets; the  price  of  patronages,  as  well  as  other  provi- 
sions, will  rise  in  proportion  to  the  demand,  and 
clergymen,  paying  so  high  for  their  settlements, 
must  languish  out  the  rest  of  their  lives  under  a  load 
of  debt  and  misery.  How  honourable  for  our  church 
would  such  a  paragraph  be  in  our  public  papers  as 
this?  '  We  hear  from  Falkirk,  that  on  Wednesday 
last,  there  was  a  great  show  of  cattle,  but  little  de- 
mand. Patronages  bore  a  very  high  price,  all  those 
brought  to  market  having  been  bought  up  the  night 
before  by  an  eminent  dealer  in  horses,  so  that  many 
clergymen  were  disappointed.'  Nor  is  this  suppo- 
sition too  extravagant:  I  have  heard  already  of  an 
eminent  dealer  in  horses  who  intends  to  buy  a  bene- 
fice for  his  son,  having  discovered  that  he  has  no  ge- 
nius for  his  own  profession.  But  dropping  conse- 
quences, it  is  evident  that  the  present  transaction 
comes  precisely  within  the  limits  of  the  acts  of  1758 
and  1759.  At  the  time  of  it  the  college  of  Aberdeen 
were  patrons  of  Marykirk.  Mr.  Brymer's  friends 
offered  and  gave  money  for  the  presentation,  as  there 
could  be  no  surer  way  of  securing  it  than  buying 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  &T 

the  right;  so  that  the  presentee,  by  accepting  said 
presentation,  incurs  ipso  facto  the  sentence  of  depor 
sition,  according  to  the  express  tenor  of  said  acts. 
Besides,  it  may  be  shown,  that  at  the  time  of  making 
these  acts,  the  word  presentation  was  used  to  signify 
a  right  of  patronage,  as  well  as  a  single  vice^  as  it 
was  not  till  of  late  years  that  this  strictness  of  speak- 
ing obtained  amongst  us.  Moreover,  it  is  confi- 
dently asserted,  that  though  Brymer,  the  patron, 
bargained  ostensibly  for  the  right  of  patronage,  he 
was  obliged,  by  a  secret  article,  to  dispone  it  to  a 
certain  gentleman  after  he  had  served  his  turn  by  it, 
and  that  it  is  already  sold  to  another  patron;  so  that 
a  single  vice  or  turn  of  presenting  was  the  very  thing 
bargained  for.  It  is  true,  that  at  the  synod  the 
presentee's  agent  held  up  a  piece  of  parchment, 
which  he  affirmed  to  be  the  right  in  question,  but  it 
might  have  been  only  a  piece  of  an  old  drum-head, 
for  ought  I  know;  and  a  collusion  betwixt  the  buyer 
and  seller  was  so  easy  in  this  case,  that  no  sort  of 
stress  can  be  laid  upon  that.  If  innkeepers  are  to  be 
patrons  of  our  churches,  and  have  no  sons  willing  to 
accept,  it  may  be  expected  that  the  greatest  drinkers 
will  be  generally  preferred ;  and  I  am  by  no  means  sure 
that  these  will  be  the  most  eminent  for  learning,  piety, 
and  other  ministerial  qualifications.  Whenever  these 
are  disregarded,  and  money  is  found  sufficient  to 
supply  their  place,  the  whole  fabric  of  our  constitu- 
tion must  be  totally  ruined.  Upon  the  whole,  the 
character  of  this  assembly  depends  upon  this  day's 
decisions,  and  if  this  settlement  is  not  found  simonia- 
cal,  and  reduced  accordingly,  your  sentences  will 
amount  only  to  an  advertisement  to  all  persons  in- 


68  MEMOIR    OF    I>R.  NISBET. 

tending  to  purchase  benefices,  to  get  their  fathers  or 
friends  to  make  the  bargain  for  the  patronage  for 
their  behoof,  and  that  they  be  sure  to  get  clandes- 
tinely into  orders  before-hand,  in  order  to  prevent 
any  troublesome  examination  into  their  qualifications 
by  the  presbytery  where  the  benefice  lies.  Such  a 
plain  countenancing  of  the  grossest  simony  is  what  I 
cannot  expect  from  an  assembly  that  has  the  least 
regard  to  character  or  conscience;  but  if  I  am  disap- 
pointed in  this,  I  would  beg  leave  to  hint  to  any  his- 
torian who  is  to  write  the  history  of  our  times,  to 
draw  a  line  at  the  present  year,  as  Mr.  Calderwood 
does  at  a  certain  period,  with  this  inscription:  *  Here 
end  the  sincere  assemblies  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.' 
*'  As  your  decisions  will  be  freely  and  impartially 
examined  by  the  public,  I  would  beg  leave  to  know 
how  you  can  avoid  being  considered  as  an  assembly 
of  venal  and  corrupt  men,  if  you  openly  encourage 
corruption  and  venality  in  others,  and  make  them 
the  surest  ways  of  introduction  to  benefices  in  this 
church.  To  prevent,  if  possible,  such  reproach,  I 
beg  leave  to  put  you  in  mind  of  an  awful  passage  of 
scripture,  which  applies  to  cases  of  this  kind,  and 
which  has  already  been  fulfilled,  with  regard  to  the 
presbytery  of  Fordoun,  and  the  majority  of  last  sy- 
nod of  Angus  and  Mearns:  it  is  Malachi  ii.  8,  9:  — 
*  But  ye  are  departed  out  of  the  way;  ye  have  caus- 
ed many  to  stumble  at  the  law;  ye  have  corrupted 
the  covenant  of  Levi,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
Therefore  have  I  also  made  you  contemptible  and 
base  before  all  the  people,  according  as  ye  have  not 
kept  my  ways,  but  have  been  partial  inthe  law.'  But 
as  I  find  that  quotations  from  scripture  are  disagree^ 


HIS   MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  69 

able  to  some  members,  I  shall  conclude  with  a  few 
monkish  verses,  quoted  by  Johannes  Andreas  van 
der  Muylen,  professor  of  the  civil  law  at  Utrecht,  in 
his  book  Be  imperio  conscientise  circa  hominis 
mores,  which  I  leave  to  the  consideration  of  this  as- 
sembly: 

*'  Judicabitjudices  judex  generalis, 
Ibique  non  proderit  dignitas  papalis, 
Sive  sit  episcopus,  sive  cardinalis, 
Reus  condemnabitur,  nee  dicetur  qualis, 
Ibi  non  proderit  multum  allegare, 
Neque  excipere,  neque  explicare, 
Neque  ad  sedem  apo^tolicam  appellare, 
Heus  condemnabitur,  nee  dicetur  quare, 
Cogitate,  miseri,  qui  et  quales  estis, 
Quidque  in  hoc  judicio  dicere  potestis, 
Ubi  neque  locus  erit  codici  nee  digestis, 
Reus  condemnabitur,  nee  producetur  testis." 

The  result,  in  this  case,  was  not  so  favourable  as 
in  the  former.  Notwithstanding  this  strong  appeal, 
the  advocates  of  the  system  of  Patronage  were  so 
powerful  that  the  General  Assembly  affirmed  the 
judgment  of  the  courts  below,  in  favour  of  the  pre- 
sentation, by  a  large  majority. 

The  truth  is,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  conceive  of 
a  more  formidable  opponent  than  this  remarkable 
man  in  a  deliberatave  body.  His  memory  was  such 
as  to  furnish  him  with  apt  quotations  from  every  de- 
partment of  literature,  with  the  peculiar  adaptedness 
and  pungency  of  which  he  frequently  disconserted 
and  sometimes  demolished  his  opponent,  and  seldom 
failed  to  electrify  the  body  which  he  addressed.  His 
inexhaustible  wit  and  humour  also  supplied  him 
with  a  weapon  which  no  one  ever  used  with  more 


70  MEMOIR    OF    DR.   NISBET. 

readiness  or  effect.  It  appeared  as  if  no  argument, 
no  quotation,  no  bon  7not,  could  ever  take  him  by 
surprise.  If  any  one  ever  attempted  to  play  the 
wit  at  liis  expense,  quick  as  lightning,  flash  after 
flash,  of  superior  wit,  would  break  from  his  lips,  ac- 
companied with  a  peculiar  expression  of  his  counte- 
nance, which,  when  he  chose  to  indulge  it,  might  be 
said  to  blaze  with  wit,  which  generally  proved  irre- 
sistible, and  seldom  Aiiled  completely  to  turn  the 
laugh  on  his  prostrate  adversary. 

In  1771,  the  subject  of  this  Memoir  had  a  corres- 
pondence with  the  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  well 
known,  for  many  years,  in  the  religious  world,  net 
only  as  a  fervently  pious  Christian,  but  also  as  a  warm 
friend  of  Whitefield,  and  as  an  active  and  munifi- 
cent promoter  of  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety  through- 
out Great  Britain,  and,  indeed,  as  far  as  her  power 
extended.  This  correspondence  seems  to  have  arisen 
on  the  part  of  Lady  Huntingdon,  who  wished  to  con- 
sult Mr.  Nisbet  in  regard  to  certain  opinions  which 
she  considered  as  erroneous,  and  which  then  appear- 
ed to  be  gaining  ground. 

The  only  portion  of  this  correspondence  which 
has  been  j)reserved,  consists  of  one  of  Mr.  Nisbet's 
letters  to  that  illustrious  and  excellent  female,  who 
seems  to  have  lived  only  to  do  good,  and  who  de- 
nied herself  many  of  what  were  considered  as  the 
ordinary  comforts  of  life,  that  she  might  have  the 
more  to  give  for  the  promotion  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  This  letter  appears  to  have  been  written 
in  answer  to  a  solicitation  of  his  opinion  in  respect 
to  a  proposed  public  Conference  between  the  friends 
of  truth  and  the  followers  of  Mr.  Wesley.     On  this 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  71 

subject,  so  interesting  at  that  time  to  a  portion  of  the 
religious  public,  Mr.  Nisbet  writes  thus: 

"  Montrose,  2Gth  July,  1770.'' 
^^  Madam  ^^ — "It  must  give  pleasure  to  every  lo- 
ver of  Christ  and  of  true  religion  to  hear  that  a  per- 
son of  your  Ladyship's  rank  is  so  interested  in  the 
affairs  of  Christ's  kingdom,  in  so  degenerate  an  age 
as  ours  is.  It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Wesley,  by  his 
preaching  and  conferences,  has  been  but  too  success- 
ful in  seducing  many  of  the  ignorant  and  unwary 
into  his  notions.  He  has  been  long  suspected  of 
teaching  doctrines  inconsistent  with  the  gospel  of 
Christ,  and  tending  to  encourage  fallen  sinners  in  a 
reliance  on  their  own  works  and  merit  for  justifica- 
tion. In  his  last  conference  he  seems  to  have  taken 
off  the  mask,  and  openly  to  inculcate  the  old  Popish 
doctrine  of  the  merit  of  good  works  wrought  by  sin- 
ners in  a  fallen  state,  in  direct  opposition  to  the  arti- 
cles of  the  Church  of  England,  which  he  must  have 
subscribed,  and  to  the  doctrine  which  he  has  many 
times  preached.  It  is  easy  to  revive  an  old,  explo- 
ded heresy,  when  we  take  no  notice  of  what  has  been 
said  against  it,  by  torturing  a  single  expression  in 
Holy  Scripture  to  give  it  countenance.  The  obscu- 
rity and  ambiguity  with  which  Mr,  Wesley  express- 
ed himself,  gives  strong  suspicion  against  his  sincer- 
ity as  well  as  his  orthodoxy.  If  1  had  all  Mr.  Wes- 
ley's publications  by  m.e,  I  think  it  would  be  easy  to 
show  that  every  doctrine  asserted  and  countenanced 
in  his  last  Conference,  is  directly  contrary  to  what 
he  himself  has  often  preached  and  published  to  the 
world  as  the  true  Gospel  of  Christ.     But  I  see  that 


72  MEMOIR    OF    BR.   mSBET. 

he  is  already  provided  with  an  answer  to  this,  by  ac- 
knowledging that  he  and  his  brethren  have  been  dis» 
puting  onl^  about  words  for  these  thirty  years  past. 
It  is  true  that  General"  Councils  and  public  Confer- 
ences have  seldom  been  favorable  to  the  interests  of 
true  religion,  as  men  bring  their  own  private  preju- 
dices and  attachments  to  those  Assemblies,  and  come 
resolved  to  maintain  their  former  opinions,  whatever 
may  be  said  against  them  ;  not  to  add,  that  these 
meetings  have  led  many  to  found  their  faith  on  hu- 
man authority,  rather  than  the  testimony  of  God  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures." 

"  But  as  the  Conference  alluded  to  is  proposed  by 
the  acknowledged  friends  of  true  religion,  who  must 
know  the  situation  of  things;  and  besides,  as  it  must 
tend  to  illustrate  a  point  of  fact,  viz.  that  the  doc- 
trines now  taught  by  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  brethren, 
are  contrary  to  what  is  taught  and  believed  by  the 
truly  orthodox  ministers  of  Christ  in  Great  Britain; — 
for  these  reasons  I  rejoice  that  it  is  to  be  held,  and 
cheerfully  contribute  my  poor  testimony  in  support 
of  the  truth.  None  can  have  the  vanity  to  believe 
that  Scripture,  reason  and  argument  will  have  the 
effect  to  enlighten  Mr.  Wesley,,  who  is  a  person  of 
great  learning  and  ingenuity,  and  cannot  be  supposed 
to  err  from  ignorance.  But  perhaps  the  concurring 
testimony  of  many  acknowledged  orthodox  minis- 
ters of  Christ,  may  be  sufficient  to  open  the  eyes  of 
some  of  his  followers,  and  to  convince  them  that  Mr. 
Wesley's  new  doctrines  are  countenanced  only  by 
the  Papists  and  some  Arminians.  I  shall  be  glad  to 
hear  of  the  issue  of  the  intended  Conference,  and 
pray  that  God,  by  his  Spirit,  may  so  direct  his  faith- 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  73 

ful  servants,  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  bear  ho- 
nourable testimony  to  the  truth  of  Christ,  and  in 
meekness  to  instruct  those  that  oppose  themselves, 
if  God,  peradventure,  will  give  them  repentance  to 
the  acknowledging  of  the  truth." 

"I  am.  Madam,  your  Ladyship's  most  obedient 
humble  servant,  Charles  Nisbet." 

"  The  Countess  of  Huntingdon." 

In  the  same  year  (1771),  when  Mr.  Wesley^s 
system  of  doctrine  was  attracting  considerable  atten- 
tion, and  when  some  measures  were  taken  to  draw 
to  it  the  notice  of  the  theologians  of  Scotland,  Mr. 
Nisbet  drew  up  a  Review  of  that  system,  which, 
though  not  published  at  the  time,  was  committed  to 
the  press  a  number  of  years  afterwards  in  a  popu- 
lar periodical.  This  Review  is  a  very  honourable 
monument  of  the  learning,  taste,  piety  and  ortho- 
doxy of  the  author.  He  treats  the  erroneous  system 
of  that  remarkable  man  with  an  urbanity,  a  force  of 
reasoning,  and  a  comprehensive  clearness,  which 
evince  the  hand  of  a  scholar,  a  logician,  and  a  divine 
of  no  ordinary  character.  Yet  it  is  probable  that  if 
the  subject  of  this  memoir  had  undertaken  to  speak 
of  Mr.  Wesley  and  his  opinions  twenty  or  thirty 
years  afterwards,  when  the  character  of  both  was 
more  fully  developed,  he  would  hardly  have  called  in 
question  the  "  sincerity  "  of  that  eminent  man.  His 
consistency  and  his  orthodoxy  he  would,  no  doubt, 
still  have  assailed  with  undiminished  confidence;  but 
he  would  probably  have  awarded  to  him  the  praise  of 
honest  zeal,  and  of  no  small  usefulness,  however  mis- 
taken and  erratic  some  parts  of  his  system. 
7 


74  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  3IISBJKT- 

CHAPTER    111. 

His  Ministry  in  Scotland  continued. 

It  was  not  only  in  the  General  Assembly  that  Mr. 
Nisbet  appeared  as  the  advocate  of  the  rights  of  the 
people,  against  the  encroachments  of  civil  or  eccle- 
siastical oppression.  He  was  the  uniform  and  ar- 
dent friend  of  this  great  cause,  and  whenever  he  had 
an  opportunity  of  pleading  it,  he  was  ever  faithful  to 
his  trust,  and  as  able  as  faithful. 

Not  many  years  after  his  settlement  in  Montrose, 
the  troubles  commenced  between  Great  Britain  and 
her  North  American  colonies.  In  this  great  contest, 
though  he  did  not  allow  himself  to  violate  the  duty 
of  a  loyal  subject,  yet,  in  principle  and  feeling,  he 
sided  with  the  Colonies.  His  friend,  Dr.  V/ither- 
spoon,  had,  in  1768,  removed  to  America,  and  was 
known  there  as  the  active,  uncompromising  patron  of 
the  Colonial  claims  and  feelings.  Mr.  Nisbet,  it  is 
believed,  substantially  agreed  with  him  in  his  general 
sentiments;  and  though,  from  the  difference  of  his 
situation,  not  prepared  to  go  all  lengths  with  his  now 
American  friend,  yet  he  felt  and  acted,  so  far  as  his 
sacred  function  called  him  to  act,  with  the  enligh- 
tened and  patriotic  Whigs  of  Great  Britain  of  that 
day;  considering  the  Colonies  as  having  just  grounds 
of  complaint,  and  as  pleading  for  rights  which  ought 
not  to  have  been  denied  them.  In  short,  Mr.  Nisbet 
was  a  decided  and  warm  friend  of  America  in  the 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLiND.  75 

contest  in  which  she  was  engaged;  and  manifested 
his  friendship  as  far  as  he  was  allowed  by  his  situa- 
tion. And  as  this  was  no  secret,  it  attracted  the  no- 
tice of  the  partizans  of  government,  and  drew  upon 
him  the  frowns  of  many  a  tool  of  the  administration. 
Being  called  to  preach  on  a  public  Fast  appointed 
by  government  during  the  American  war,  he  took 
his  text  from  Daniel  v.  5,  25:  In  the  same  hour 
came  forth  Jingers  of  a  man's  hand,  and  wrote 
over  against  the  candlestick,  upon  the  plaster  of 
the  wall  of  the  king^s  palace;  and  the  king  saw 
the  part  of  the  hand  that  wrote — And  this  is 
the  writing  that  was  written,  Mene,  Mene,  Te- 

KEL,  UfHARSIN. 

The  introduction  to  his  discourse  was  in  the  fol- 
lowing strongly  marked  and  characteristic  strain: 

"  We  are  this  day  called  by  our  superiours  to  fast 
and  afflict  our  souls;  and  they  have  not  called  us  to 
this  duty  until  they  had  given  us  abundant  reason  to 
do  so.  We  have  many  enemies:  our  sins  and  follies 
are  many  also;  yet  we  do  not  chuse  to  be  told  of 
them.  Prosperity  intoxicates  men's  minds;  and  even 
a  great  share  of  adversity  is  insufficient  to  open  their  , 
eyes,  and  bring  them  to  their  senses.  They  love  to 
be  deceived,  and  hope  to  the  last,  till  the  punishment 
of  their  sins  actually  falls  upon  them.  Nineveh  is 
the  only  instance  in  history  of  a  people  repenting 
and  obtaining  a  delay  of  their  punishment.  To  dis- 
charge our  duty  with  as  little  offence  as  possible,  we 
have  chose  the  words  of  this  text  for  the  subject  of 
our  discourse  on  this  occasion.  They  served  to  awa- 
ken a  mighty  monarch,  who  does  not  appear  to  have 
ever  thought  before.     After  the  destruction  of  Nine- 


76  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

veh,  Babylon  was  the  principal  seat  of  the  Assyrian 
monarch,  though  that  empire  did  not  continue  long 
in  vigour  after  the  above  period.  Under  Nebuchad- 
nezzar it  was  terrible  and  extensive;  but  the  weakness 
and  incapacity  of  his  grandson  Belshazzar  brought 
it  to  an  end,  as  we  are  told  in  the  chapter  from  which 
our  text  is  taken,  and  as  it  had  been  long  ago  fore- 
told by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  Chapter  45,  46,  47.  Cy- 
rus, the  instrument  chosen  of  God  for  that  purpose, 
was  named,  long  before  his  birth,  by  the  prophet; 
and  on  this  account,  that  he  was  raised  up  to  execute 
God's  judgments  against  Babylon,  and  to  rebuild  the 
Temple  of  Jerusalem,  he  is  called  '  the  Lord's  anoin- 
ted.' The  Babylonian  empire  consisted  of  a  num- 
ber of  conquered  provinces,  whose  princes  were  alto- 
gether kings.  Many  of  these  had  revolted,  on  ac- 
count of  the  injuries  they  had  suffered  by  the  Baby- 
lonian monarchs.  An  empire  founded  in  violence, 
and  stained  with  blood,  can  never  be  called  secure, 
and  nourishes  in  its  bosom  the  seeds  of  its  dissolu- 
tion. An  arbitrary  prince  rules  over  enemies,  whose 
weakness  alone  obliges  them  to  pretend  to  be  his 
friends;  but  who  are  ready  to  seize  the  first  opportu- 
nity of  revenging  their  wrongs,  by  abandoning,  be- 
traying or  destroying  their  tyrant.  The  Medes  and 
Persians  were  made  use  of  in  the  destruction  of  Ba- 
bylon, and  were  part  of  the  nations  that  had  been 
subject  to  its  dominion  in  the  time  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar." 

On  another  public  fast  day,  during  the  continu- 
ance of  our  revolutionary  contest,  the  members  of 
the  Town  Council  of  Montrose,  who  were  always  in 
the  habit  of  attending  public  worship  in  Mr.  Nisbet's 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  77 

church,  and  of  occupying  a  pew  in  a  conspicuous 
situation  assigned  to  them  in  their  official  character, 
were  seated  as  usual  in  their  appropriate  place.  Per- 
ceiving, soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  dis- 
course, that  its  character  was  likely  to  be  by  no  means 
agreeable  to  their  taste,  they  rose  in  a  body  and  left 
the  Church.  Mr.  Nisbet,  stretching  forth  his  hand 
toward  the  seat  which  they  had  just  occupied,  said 
with  emphasis,  as  they  withdrew — ''  The  wicked  flee 
when  no  man  pursueth." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  things  of  this 
kind  drew  upon  him  no  little  odium  from  various 
quarters.  But  his  great  talents,  his  pre-eminent  learn- 
ing, and  his  acknowledged  piety  and  faithfulness 
made  such  an  impression  on  the  public  mind  in  his 
favour,  that  the  friends  of  the  administration  did  not 
consider  it  as  either  wise  or  safe  to  do  more  than  to 
smile  at  the  wit  and  sarcasm,  and  complain  of  the 
censure,  of  which  he  so  frequently  and  severely  made 
them  the  subjects. 

Mr.  Nisbet,  however,  in  taking  this  course,  was 
not  alone.  Some  of  the  best  men  in  Scotland  sym- 
pathized with  him  in  his  principles  and  preaching, 
and  thus  contributed  not  a  little  to  divide  and  disarm 
the  odium  which  might  otherwise  have  borne  more 
heavily  on  an  unsupported  individual.  Among  oth- 
ers his  venerable  and  highly  respected  friend,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Erskine,  of  Edinburgh,  substantially  agreed 
with  him,  and  in  his  preaching  and  publications  from 
the  press  stood  forth  as  the  friend  of  America.  A 
short  time  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  which 
terminated  in  the  independence  of  the  United  States, 
Dr.  Erskine  published  a  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Shall 


78  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBETs, 

we  go  to  war  with  our  brother  Benjamin^*'  He,  too,, 
was  charged  with  preaching  and  praying  in  a  manner 
highly  offensive  to  the  advocates  of  the  American 
war.  When  besought  by  a  personal  friend  to  pray 
differently  for  the  king  and  his  ministers,  he  said — 
"  Do  I  not  pray  for  them  every  sabbath?'' — his  friend 
replied — "  Yes,  but  you  pray  for  them  as  if  they  were 
the  greatest  culprits  in  all  his  majesty's  dominions." 
These  circumstances,  no  doubt,  among  others  of  a 
still  more  interesting  character,  led  to  a  warm  attach- 
ment between  these  two  friends,  which  gave  rise  to 
much  intercourse  between  them  while  Mr.  Nisbet 
remained  in  Scotland,  and  to  a  confidential  and  affec- 
tionate correspondence,  after  his  removal  to  this  coun- 
try, which  continued  as  long  as  Dr.  Erskine  lived. 
Some  specimens  of  this  correspondence  will  be  given 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

While  Mr.  Nisbet  proved  himself  a  warm  friend 
to  the  enlightened  claims  of  civil  liberty,  he  was  no 
less  awake  to  the  rights  of  conscience  and  of  the 
Church.  In  1781,  he  prepared  a  series  of  "Letters 
to  the  members  of  the  established  Church  of  Scot- 
land," in  which  his  views  of  the  unhappy  policy  pur- 
sued by  the  courts  of  the  Church,  are  presented  with 
great  strength  and  eloquence.  Argument,  learning, 
and  satire  are  all  brought,  with  much  ability,  to  bear 
on  the  subject.  In  one  of  the  letters,  a  draft  of  a 
proposed  petition  to  the  king  is  found,  in  which  faith- 
ful warning,  united  with  intense  sarcasm,  shows  the 
hand  of  a  great  and  good  man,  supremely  devoted  to 
what  he  deemed  the  best  interests  of  the  church,  and 
of  the  nation.  These  Letters  appear  to  have  been 
iive  in  number.     Only  two  of  them  are  found  among 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  79 

his  papers  in  any  good  measure  complete.  Whetlier 
all,  or  indeed  any  of  them  were  ever  published  can- 
not now  be  known.  E.ven  the  two  which  remain  in 
manuscript,  do  not  appear  to  have  been  entirely  pre- 
pared for  the  press;  and  the  publication  of  them  with- 
out the  others  would  hardly  be  doing  j^ustice  either 
to  the  author  or  the  cause. 

In  the  year  1782,  a  special  effort  seems  to  have 
been  made  in  Scotland  to  obtain  from  the  Parliament 
a  repeal  of  the  Patronage  Act,  and  restoring  to  the 
chu+'ches  of  the  Scottish  establishment  the  right  to 
choose  their  own  ministers.  At  such  a  time  it  was 
impossible  for  him  to  be  idle.  Accordingly,  there 
w^as  found  among  his  papers,  a  series  of  Resolutions, 
in  his  own  hand  writing,  drawn  up  and  adopted  at  a 
large  public  meeting,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
copy,  and  which  will  sufficiently  explain  themselves. 

^^  Montrose,  July  15,  1782. 

"A  considerable  number  of  the  Elders,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  and  par- 
rish,  who  are  members  of  the  established  Church, 
having  this  day  met,  and  being  informed  that  attempts 
are  making,  in  several  parts  of  this  kingdom,  to  pro- 
cure a  repeal  of  the  Patronage  Act,  they  judged  it 
their  duty  to  join  the  other  parishes  and  societies  in 
Scotland,  which  intend  to  petition  for  a  repeal  of  said 
Act;  and  unanimously  agreed  to  the  following  Reso- 
lutions, viz. 

I.  "That  patronage  is  not  only  contrary  to  the 
Scriptures,  and  the  natural  liberties  of  mankind,  but 
also  a  direct  encroachment  on  the  rights  and  consti- 
tution of  the  Church,  established  by  the  5th  Act  of 


80  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

the  first  parliament  of  William  and  Mary,  and  rati- 
fied by  the  Treaty  of  Union.'' 

II.  "  That  Patronage,  though  restored  by  Queen 
Anne's  Tory  Ministry  in  1712,  was  not  received  or 
submitted  to  by  the  judicatories  of  this  Church,  but 
repeatedly  remonstrated  against,  till  about  forty  years 
ago,  when  a  corrupt  party  began  to  prevail,  and  the 
original  principles  of  this  Church  were  in  a  great 
measure  forgotten.  Nay  Patronage  has  been  so  uni- 
formly reckoned  a  grievance  in  this  Church,  that 
even  those  General  Assemblies  whose  oppressive 
measures  have  given  so  much  offence  to  the  members 
of  this  Church,  have  never  failed  to  instruct  their 
commissioners  to  petition  for  a  repeal  of  said  Act,  if 
a  favourable  opportunity  offered." 

III.  "  That  although  the  pretended  intention  of 
the  Patronage  Act  was  to  prevent  heats  and  divis- 
ions; yet,  by  the  experience  of  more  than  forty  years, 
it  has  been  found  that  the  said  Act,  and  the  violent 
proceedings  of  Church  Judicatories  in  compliance 
with  it,  has  occasioned  the  greatest  divisions  ever 
known  in  this  Church;  and  has  driven  from  its  com- 
munion some  hundreds  of  congregations  of  well  dis- 
posed persons,  who  are  still  of  the  principles  of  this 
Church,  but  who  could  not  submit  to  such  tyrannical 
usage." 

IV^.  "That  the  said  Act,  restoring  Patronages,  by 
putting  the  power  of  settlements  solely  in  the  Patron, 
has  introduced  a  servile  and  dependent  spirit  among 
the  Clergy  of  this  Church,  whereby  their  votes  and 
determinations  are  entirely  governed  by  their  Pat- 
rons, or  friends  that  procured  their  settlement;  which 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  81 

makes  them  most  unfit  guardians  and  representatives 
of  a  free  and  independent  church." 

V.  "  That,  in  consequence  of  this  dependent  spirit, 
the  General  Assemblies  of  this  Church,  composed 
mostly  of  such  men  as  patronage  only  could  have  in- 
troduced, are  become  so  corrupt,  slavish,  and  tyran- 
nical in  their  proceedings,  that  they  are  the  terror 
and  aversion  of  all  the  friends  of  religion  and  liberty; 
as  by  their  foolish  and  arbitrary  proceedings  they 
are  lessening  the  numbers  of  the  members  of  this 
Church  every  year;  and  thus  openly  wasting  that 
body  which  it  is  their  duty  to  preserve/' 

VI.  <'  That  if  some  stop  is  not  soon  put  to  these 
destructive  proceedings,  which  certainly  cannot  be 
expected  from  General  Assemblies,  who  are  the  prin- 
cipal authors  of  them,  this  Church  mu5t  soon  be  re- 
duced to  a  very  contemptible  number,  and  all  its  be- 
nefices reduced  to  absolute  sinecures;  a  circum- 
stance that  must  hasten  the  ruin  of  our  Church  esta- 
blishment; and  as  there  already  exist  parishes,  con- 
sisting of  only  two,  five,  eight,  and  ten  individuals, 
the  rest  being  mostly  dissenters,  this  period  can  be 
at  no  great  distance." 

VII.  "  That  Patronage  gives  an  opportunity  for 
simoniacal  pactions,  which,  though  condemned  by 
the  laws  of  all  Christian  countries,  can  never  be  pre- 
vented where  Patronage  is  established.  And,  though 
there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  sundry  benefices 
in  this  Church  have  been  bought  with  money;  it  is  of- 
ten impossible  to  make  legal  proof  of  these  deeds  of 
darkness,  whereof  even  the  guilty  actors  are  evi- 
dently ashamed." 

VIII.  ^^And  that  the  people  who  remain  in  the 


82  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

communion  of  the  Church,  by  the  habit  of  submit- 
ting to  oppression,  have,  in  a  great  measure,  lost  the 
spirit  of  libert}^,  and  become  the  willing  slaves  of 
any  that  pretend  dominion  over  them." 

IX.  "  For  these  reasons,  we  hereby  declare  our 
resolution  to  join  with  the  other  parishes  and  socie- 
ties who  have  notified  their  resolution  to  petition 
the  Legislature  for  the  repeal  of  this  most  pernicious 
and  destructive  Act;  and  we  appoint  these  our  reso- 
lutions to  be  notified  to  the  Constitutional  Society  of 
correspondence  at  Glasgow,  and  to  be  published  in 
the  Caledonian  Mercury,  the  Edinburgh  Evening 
Courant,  and  the  London  Chronicle;  and  we  hereby 
promise  to  defray  a  proportional  part  of  the  expense 
of  the  application  to  Parliament,  along  with  all  those 
other  societies  who  shall  join  in  said  application." 

Although  ]Mr.  Nisbet,  by  thus  opposing,  both  in 
church  and  state,  the  policy  most  acceptable  in  the 
•'  high  places"  of  the  land,  incurred  not  a  little  odium, 
he  held  a  place  in  public  estimation  too  high  to  be 
contemned,  and  too  firm  to  be  shaken.  But  not  only 
was  the  popular  voice  strong  in  his  favour.  Even 
some  of  the  noblesse  of  the  country  were  constrained 
to  do  honour  to  his  exalted  character,  and  to  show 
that  they  knew  how  to  estimate  pre-eminent  accom- 
plishments and  worth,  however  unbending  to  the 
authority  of  the  court.  Accordingly,  the  subject  of 
this  Memoir  was  favoured  with  the  peculiar  friend- 
ship and  confidence  of  a  large  number  not  only  of  the 
most  distinguished  and  excellent  of  the  clergy  and 
literati  of  Scotland;  but  also  of  some  individuals  of 
both  sexes  belonging  to  noble  families,  who  delighted 
to  testify  their  veneration  for  the  piety,  the  talents. 


HIS   MINISTRY    IN   SCOTLAND.  83 

and  the  extraordinary  erudition  which  all  parties  as- 
cribed to  him.  Among  a  number  of  names  which 
might  be  mentioned  as  examples  of  this  friendship, 
those  of  the  Earl  of  Buchan,  and  the  Countess  of 
Leven  and  Melville,  in  Scotland,  and  of  Lady  Hunt- 
ingdon, before  mentioned,  in  England,  are  particu- 
larly specified,  because  some  remains  of  their  corres- 
pondence are  still  preserved  among  the  papers  of 
this  remarkable  man. 

A  few  specimens  of  the  letters  of  the  Countess  of 
Leven  will,  doubtless,  be  interesting  to  the  reader, 
as  examples  of  plain,  simple,  unpretending,  but  en- 
lightened Christian  friendship,  equally  honourable  to 
the  illustratious  female  by  whom  they  were  written, 
and  the  venerable  minister  to  whom  they  are  ad- 
dressed. 

The  first  is  without  date  as  to  the  year,  but  proba- 
bly written  about  the  year  1778  or  1779. 

"  Melville  House,  Sept.  1th. 
''Sir,'' 

"  As  I  have  a  great  esteem  for  your  character,  and 
some  attachment  to  your  name,"^  I  take  the  liberty 
to  write  a  few  lines  to  you  concerning  a  book  which 
is  in  your  possession,  and  which,  at  present,  occa- 
sions a  good  deal  of  speculation.  I  need  not,  after  say- 
ing this,  add  the  name  of  the  book,  which  I  am  not 
thoroughly  acquainted  with.  The  author's  name  is 
Nostrodanuis.    It  would  be  doing  my  Lord  and  me 

*  The  Earl  of  Leven  had  married  Miss  JVilhelmina  A'lsbet,  of  a 
family  which,  though  it  bore  the  name  of  the  subject  of  this  Memoir, 
was  not  known  to  bear  any  relation  to  him,  of  either  consanguinity 
or  affinity. 


84  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

9.  favour  if  you  would  take  the  trouble  to  cause  to  be 
written  out  a  few  of  the  mo5t  remarkable  passages, 
alluding  to  these  times,  and  send  them  by  post.'^ 

"Should  this  correspondence  prove  an  introduc- 
tion to  future  acquaintance,  it  will  bring  about  a 
wished  for  event.  If  it  is  agreeable  and  convenient 
for  you,  my  Lord  and  I  will  be  glad  to  see  you, 
either  at  Melville  House,  or  Edinburgh. '^ 

"  1  beg  you  will  forgive  this  trouble;  and  that  you 
may  believe  me  to  be,  with  esteem/^ 

"  Sir,  your  humble  servant," 

"  W.  Leven." 

"  Rev,  Mr.  Nisbet,  Montrose.^' 

The  book  mentioned  by  Lady  Leven  is  a  very  rare 
and  a  very  curious  one.  The  author  of  this  Memoir 
never  saw  a  copy  of  it  excepting  the  one  possessed  by 
Dr.  Nisbet,  of  which  he  often  heard  the  Doctor  speak 
with  no  small  interest.  Nostrodamus  was  a  celebrated 
physician  and  astrologer  of  France,  who  flourished 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  His  prophecies,  like  those 
of  the  Delphic  Oracle,  were  interesting  chiefly  on 
account  of  their  mysterious  and  equivocal  character. 
It  was  not  difiicult  to  find  the  fulfilment  of  an  oracle 
so  expressed  that  it  might  be  made  to  mean  almost 
any  thing.  Dr.  Nisbet  considered  this  work  as  one 
of  the  most  singular  productions  of  modern  times, 
and  often  amused  himself  in  comparing  its  pretended 
predictions  with  late  events. 

From  the  same. 

"iVov.  29,  1779.'' 
*' Rev.  Sir,'' 

"  I  would  have  written  before  now,  to  inquire  after 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  85 

you,  and  to  thank  you  for  your  kind  visit,  had  I  not 
waited  for  a  frank;  and,  in  the  mean  time,  a  very 
mounful  event  occurred,  which  gave  much  concern 
to  this  family;  and  I  truly  believe  that  the  death  of 
our  worthy  friend.  Lady  Northesk,  has  given  very 
general  concern.  Her  own  family  have  sustained  a 
very  great  loss.  But  I  have  no  time  to  enlarge  upon 
this  extensive  subject.'^ 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  frank  manner 
in  which  you  expressed  a  desire  to  comply  with  my 
request  for  a  reading  of  your  Lecture,  had  it  been 
written:  and  still  more  by  your  offer  to  gratify  my 
inclination,  recollecting  your  pious  meditations  on 
that  rich  Psalm,  and  writing  them  out  for  me.  I 
cannot  deny  myself  so  far  as  to  decline  so  instruc- 
tive an  offer,  though  sensible  it  must  be  attended 
with  considerable  trouble  to  you.  I  do,  therefore, 
thankfully  accept  of  it.  And,  when  a  leisure  hour 
may  permit,  I  beg  you  may  fulfil  the  further  offer 
you  made  of  letting  me  have  your  thoughts,  now  and 
then,  on  some  further  passages  of  scripture  as  they  may 
occur.  I  have  an  interleaved  Bible,  in  which  1  have 
collected  some  Annotations,  particularly  all  that  are 
to  be  found  in  Mr.  Hervey's  writings  (should  be  glad 
to  know  your  opinion  of  these  writings.)  It  will  be 
doing  me  a  great  favour  to  send  me  some  notes  for 
that  purpose.^' 

"All  this  family  join  in  best  respects  to  you;  and 
I  beg  you  may  believe  me,  with  much  esteem,'^ 
"  Dear  sir,  your  humble  servant," 

«  W.  Leven." 

"  Rev.  Mr.  Nisbet.'' 


86  MEMOIR  OP  DR.  NISBET. 

From  the  same. 

''March  9th,  1780.'' 
«  Dear  Sir/' 

"  I  received  yours  of  February  21st,  which  gave 
me  much  satisfaction,  and  for  which  I  do  most  sin- 
cerely thank  you.  IMy  good  correspondents,  and, 
of  course,  my  inclination  for  writing,  are  much  fallen 
off  of  late.  But  when  I  meet  with  one  whose  senti- 
ments agree  with  my  own  in  so  many  particulars  as 
you  have  yet  had  occasion  to  mention,  it  encourages 
me  to  proceed,  in  hopes  of  receiving  profit.  As  to 
your  sentiments  of  Sermons,  they  give  me  much 
pleasure,  if  I  mistake  them  not.  I  suppose  you  give 
the  preference  to  sermons  which  affect  the  heart, 
which  many  condemn.  For  my  part,  those  sermons 
which  do  not  affect  my  heart,  and  draw  tears  from  my 
eyes,  have  little  effect  upon  me  at  all.  They  go  in 
at  one  ear  and  out  at  the  other,  without  making  any 
lodgment  in  the  memory.  Your  verdict  concerning 
Commentators  is  also,  in  general,  most  just.  I  never 
met  with  one  of  the  few  I  have  seen,  without  ob- 
serving the  coldness  with  wHich  they  could  treat  of 
the  most  interesting  truths.  I  thought  you  might 
l^now  of  one  of  another  spirit;  who  wrote  with  more 
feeling  than  the  generality  of  Commentators  do;  and 
with  another  view  than  multiplying  their  critical 
notes  and  observations.  This  made  me  prize  Mr. 
Hervey's  writings.  He  writes  with  such  warmth, 
and  his  ideas  are  so  exalted.'^ 

"I  am  much  obliged,  and  much  edified  by  your 
notes  upon  the  other  verses  of  the  XXXII.  Psalm.  I 
say  it  without  an  idea  of  flattery  (indeed  my  opinion 
is  little  worth  having),  that  I  think  you  would  make 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  87 

a  most  excellent  Commentator.  And  this  opinion, 
I  dare  say,  is  not  peculiar  to  me.  I  should  be  much 
indebted  to  you  for  any  addition  to  the  notes  already 
collected  in  my  interleaved  Bible,  which  are  not 
many;  mostly  confined  to  Mr.  Hervey's.  I  cannot 
name  any  particular  texts  or  places.  Whatever 
strikes  or  occurs  naturally  to  yourself  will  be  most 
agreeable,  and  from  time  to  time,  as  you  find  lei- 
sure and  inclination.  I  suppose  notes  from  old 
lectures  (if  you  have  them)  abridged,  would  answer 
very  well.  But  I  have  some  idea  that  you  said  you 
did  not  write  your  lectures,  which  is  a  pity." 

"  I  am  glad  to  find  that  your  health  was  improved 
when  you  wrote  last.  I  hope  your  family  are  all 
well,  to  which  I  am  persuaded,  from  your  habits,  and 
the  character  of  your  mind,  you  are  much  attached." 

'^  I  have  not  been  so  well  for  a  week  past,  as  for 
some  time  before.  The  degree  of  health  to  which  I 
have  been  restored  is  a  great  blessing,  and  demands 
my  most  thankful  acknowledgments  to  my  Almighty 
Deliverer.  O  that  more  precious  fruits  may  grow 
from  this  new  lease  of  life  than  I  have  ever  brought 
forth  hitherto;  and  all  be  dedicated  to  Him  who  has 
yet  Fpared  and  rexleemed  from  the  power  of  the 
grave!" 

"I  tire  of  writing,  so  will  add  no  more,  but  ask 
your  opinion  of  Baxter's  Saint's  Rest  abridged,  and 
his  '  Dying  Thoughts' — ^  Converse  with  God  in  So- 
litude'— all  abridged,  by  B.  Fawcett.  If  you  noticed 
a  letter  in  the  newspaper  (London  Chronicle)  from 
Mr.  Wesley,  concerning  Popery,  I  think  you  would 
approve  of  all.  1  like  those  pieces  of  Baxter  very 
much.     Perhaps  you   have  not  seen   them  in  their 


88  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

present  state.     My  Lord,  and  all  the  young  people, 
send  their  best  respects.     I  am,  with  much  esteem, 
"  Dear  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"W.  Leven." 
«  Rev.  Mr.  Nisbet.'' 

"  P.  S.  You  have  heard  that  Mr.  Taylor,  of  Pais- 
ley, goes  to  Glasgow,  and  Mr.  Burnside  to  Dumfries. 
A  Mr.  Buchanan,  from  Glasgow,  is  spoken  of  for 
Leith.  I  think  that  is  his  name.  Mr.  Boner  might 
have  gone  to  Glasgow  had  he  inclined;  but  (what  is 
very  uncommon)  wisely  thought  himself  too  young 
for  such  a  charge;  and  that  it  might  have  been  a  loss 
to  him  in  the  most  essential  respects." 

From  the  same. 

''Melville  House,  Nov.  4,  1783.'' 
''Rev.  Sir,'' 

"  I  had  the  favour  of  yours,  and  really  take  it  as 
a  favour;  for,  although  your  pen  writes  readily,  it 
cannot  be  called  '  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer.'  Nei- 
ther is  mine;  I  am  sure,  for,  whatever  it  has  been,  I 
find  a  great  change.  I  wish  I  could  say  that  indo- 
lence, much  as  I  dislike  the  idea  of  thai,  was  the 
only  cause  of  my  unwillingness  to  write.  But  if  I 
ever  had  any  genius  for  it,  it  is  now  lost.  Of  this,  I 
must  not  delay  to  give  you  a  specimen,  to  convince 
you  that  I  am  not  insensible  of  your  favour;  and, 
therefore,  write,  perhaps  a  few,  perhaps  many  lines, 
in  answer  to  your  truly  valuable  letter,  for  which  I 
thank  you,  and  give  you  joy  of  your  victory.  As 
matters  seem  to  go  on  slowly,  it  will  probably  come 
to  be  another  outgo,  if  then  it  be  restored." 


HIS  MINISTRY  IN  SCOTLAND.  89 

"  Your  expectations  concerning  the  effects  of  peace 
have  been  different  from  mine.  I  could  earnestly 
wish  you  had  been  right;  but  I  always  dreaded  that 
when  the  war  ended,  people  would  then  imagine 
they  had  less  to  fear,  and  their  minds,  consequently 
become  dissipated,  especially  with  regard  to  secular 
affairs,  as  it  made  a  new  opening  for  trade.  As  for 
the  other  warnings  from  Providence,  most  awful  in- 
deed have  they  been;  and  I  trust  that  those  who  have 
been  more  immediately  concerned,  have  been  led  to 
repentance  by  the  judgments  of  God:  but  at  this  dis- 
tance they  seem  to  have  had  no  effect.  Neither  do 
the  direful  effects  of  war,  or  threatened  famine,  which 
so  many  have  suffered  by,  appear  to  have  accom^ 
plished  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  sent.  By 
all  accounts,  we  continue  to  ^  revolt  m.ore  and 
more.'  Extravagance  and  luxury  daily  increase. 
God  only  knows  wMiat  the  consequence  will  be!  He 
knows  what  we  deserve.  No  nation  has  better  rea- 
son to  say,  that  'judgment  is  his  strange  work;' 
and  that  '  it  is  of  his  mercy  that  we  are  not  consu- 
med.' " 

''  As  for  the  Unitarian  sect  which  you  mention  as 
lately  introduced  at  INIontrose,  it  is  pretty  plain  that 
God  has  not  joined  them  together,  therefore  endea- 
vours may  be  used  to  put  them  asunder.  Yet  I  dare 
say,  open  opposition  is  the  readiest  way  to  make 
these  small  beginnings  grow  and  flourish.  I  remem- 
ber to  have  heard  that  Barclay,  the  Quaker,  was 
sadly  disappointed  that  he  was  not  persecuted.  I 
just  now  read  a  passage,  which  I  will  transcribe,  as 
somewhat  to  the  purpose.  '  It  is  meet  we  should 
tremble  for  fear,  and  stand  amazed  when  we  behold 
8* 


90  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISBET. 

the  most  grievous  judgments  of  God;  how  he  con- 
founds the  understanding  of  the  learned  of  this  world ; 
whilst  many  persons  not  indeed  destitute  of  good  na- 
tural understanding  and  sagacity,  are  so  offended  at 
the  great  simplicity  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  that  they 
have  found  out  divers  ways  of  inverting  the  sense  of 
clear  words,  and  use  their  utmost  endeavours  to  deny 
their  plain  meaning;  draw  them  to  a  foreign  sense, 
and  accommodate  them  to  the  taste  of  their  corrupt 
reason.  Although  the  words  themselves  be  so  mani- 
festly perspicuous  as  to  glare  in  their  eyes,  the  ex- 
ample of  those  men,  who  look  upon  the  words  of  St. 
John,  in  the  first  chapter  of  his  Gospel,  as  divinely 
inspired,  and  nevertheless,  impugn  the  eternal  divi- 
nity and  majesty  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ought  to 
render  us  cautious  and  circumspect,  that  we  do  not 
pervert  the  holy  writings  to  our  own  destruction;  on 
the  contrary,  that  we  strive,  with  the  greatest  ear- 
nestness, to  receive  the  plain  truths  of  God,  with  plain 
and  honest  hearts,  and  earnestly  pray  to  him  for  the 
true  sense  thereof/  0  Lord,  incline  us  ever  to  hear, 
to  receive  every  truth  from  thy  word,  and  every  dic- 
tate of  thy  Spirit  with  docility  and  love!" 

"My  Lord,  and  all  the  family  send  their  best  re- 
spects.'^ 

"  Ever  respectfully  yours,'' 

"W.  Leven.'' 

''Rev.  MrsNishetr 

Several  years  before  Mr.  Nisbet  was  invited  to 
America,  he  entered  his  eldest  son,  Thomas,  as  a  stu- 
dent in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  the  young  man  returned  to  his  studies  in 


HIS  MINISTRY  IN  SCOTLAND.  91 

that  Institution,  his  father  gave  him  a  letter  to  the 
Earl  of  Buchan,*  commending  him  to  the  paternal 
notice  of  that  nobleman,  with  whom  his  father  had 
been  long  and  intimately  acquainted.  The  follow- 
ing is  the  letter  borne  by  the  son;  and  the  reply  of 
the  Earl  is  added. 

"  Montrose,  22d  October,  1782.'' 
''Ml/ Lord,'' 

^'  If  I  were  not  fully  assured  of  your  Lordship's 
goodness  and  condescension,  I  would  not  have  taken 
the  liberty,  though  at  your  express  desire,  of  pre- 
senting my  son  to  your  patronage  and  protection,  as 
I  hereby  do.  I  should  have  reckoned  them  words 
of  course,  like  the  ofifers  of  service  usually  made  by 
courtiers.  But  as  I  have  a  quite  dififerent  opinion  of 
your  Lordship,  and  have  been  informed  of  the  care 
you  have  taken  of  encouraging  youth  in  the  study  of 
letters,  I  would  gladly  hope  that  the  very  circum- 
stance of  being  presented  to  your  Lordship,  and  the 
observing,  if  he  were  capable  to  observe,  what  lustre 
the  study  of  letters  adds  to  persons  of  rank,  may  ex- 
cite in  my  boy  an  ambition  to  deserve  the  approba- 
tion of  the  declared  patron  of  letters  and  liberty. 
Your  Lordship  will  find  him  extremely  raw  and  un- 
furnished with  ideas,  as  must  be  the  case  with  boys 

*  This  is  the  Lord  Buchan,  who  sent  to  General  Washington  a 
box  made  of  the  Oak  which  sheltered  the  great  Sir  UlUiam  JVallace, 
after  the  battle  of  Falkirk,  and  to  whom  the  American  Chief,  with  so 
much  characteristic  dehcacy  and  dignity,  bequeathed  back  the  inter- 
esting gift  in  his  last  will,  not  wiUing  to  take  on  himself  the  selection 
of  the  man  most  worthy  of  possessing  it.  This  Scottish  Nobleman 
seems  to  have  been  an  enlightened,  honest,  eminently  patriotic  and 
worthy  man. 


92  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

educated  in  a  country  burgh,  and  merely  as  the  rude 
block  out  of  which  an  image  is  to  be  cut  by  the  skill 
of  the  statuary.'^ 

"  The  gentlemen  of  this  country,  (I  scruple  to  call 
them  Freeholders)  appear  to  be  quite  unworthy  of 
your  Lordship's  late  address,  and  it  would  be  a  trans- 
gression of  the  express  precepts  of  the  gospel  to  ten- 
der it  to  them.  For  the  most  part  they  seem  to  have 
no  idea  of  an  equal  representation,  or  indeed  of  any 
representation  at  all,  except  such  as  may  occasionally 
profit  their  sons  and  dependents.  Some  late  incident* 
contributed  to  carry  the  business  of  making  game 
votes  as  far  as  it  could  go  in  this  country.  It  is  now 
considered  as  the  law  of  the  land,  and  though  some 
gentlemen  for  a  time  affected  to  complain  of  it,  each 
great  proprietor  grudges  to  be  deprived  of  the  support 
of  his  subordinate  myrmidons.  It  is  with  great  con- 
cern that  I  observe  that  our  present  Premier  seems  to 
have  referred  the  business  of  the  Caledonian  Band  to 
the  arbitrament  of  the  Treasurer  of  the  Navy.  I 
wish  that  the  good  genius  of  Great  Britain  had  desti- 
ned your  Lordship  a  more  equitable  judge,  but  I  am 
not  without  hopes  that  the  representation  of  the  slate 
of  this  country,  which  will  be  made  by  the  noblemen 
and  gentlemen  concerned,  and  to  which  the  Lord  Ad- 
vocate cannot  yet  be  a  stranger,  as  well  as  the  distin- 
guished loyalty  and  good  character  of  the  solicitors, 
may  make  some  impression  even  on  a  person  of  pre- 
rogative principles.  Poor  Scotland  can  never  expect 
to  reap  any  benefit  from  the  late  act  for  arming  the 
people,  nor  indeed  to  be  any  thing  more  than  a  nur- 
sery of  the  forces  of  the  Crown,  if  by  any  unlucky 


HIS  MINISTRY  IN  SCOTLAND.  93 

means  the  present  project  should  be  set  aside.     I  am, 
with  unfeigned  respect/^ 
"My  Lord," 

^•'  Your  Lordship's  most  obedient," 
"Humble  servant," 

"  Charles  Nisbet." 
"  The  Right  Honourable,  the 

Earl  of  Biichan,  EdinburghJ^^ 

The  Reply. 
"  Edinburgh,  November  2d,  1782." 
"  Reverend  Sir,'' 

"Your  acceptable  letter  of  the  22d  ult.  found  me 
at  dinner  with  the  Lord  Provost,  by  which  means  I 
was  deprived  of  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  bearer  of 
it,  to  whom  I  shall  pay  the  attention,  during  the 
course  of  his  studies  at  Edinburgh,  which  I  imagine 
you  would  desire." 

"  The  great  object  of  education  is  to  form  good  and 
useful  citizens,  and  to  give  a  proper  direction  to  the 
energy  of  youth." 

"I  flatter  myself  that  I  possess  the  faculty,  or 
'  knack,'  as  we  vulgarly  call  it,  of  discerning  the 
forte  and  the  foible  of  young  people,  and  of  laying 
hold  of  both  or  either  to  set  the  intellectual  machine 
in  motion.  I  shall  be  very  glad  to  exercise  this 
gift,  and  bestow  it  on  the  son  of  a  respectable  and 
very  singular  Scotch  Clergyman." 

"  I  say  singular,  not  because  f  think  it  rare  to  meet 
with  a  respectable  clergyman  in  our  Kirk.  God  for- 
bid !  Very  far  from  it.  But  I  am  sorry  to  say,  that 
I  find  it  very  singular  for  a  Scotch  Clergyman  to 


94  MEMOIR  or  DE.  XISBET. 

hold  so  high  a  place  as  you  do  among  the  friends  of 
liberty,  and  the  English  Constitution  of  government. 
1  wish  I  could  call  it  B?ntish." 

"Your  alliteiations  on  the  C.  B.  are  much  relish- 
ed.'"^ 

"I  am,  Reverend  Sir,  with  regard,  your  obliged 
humble  servant,  Buchan." 

'^  Rev.  Mr.  Nisbef,  Montrose.^^ 

Mr.  Nisbet  to  the  Earl  of  Buchan. 

''Montrose,  Nov.  I2th,  17S2." 
"  Ml/  Lord;' 

"Your  Lordship's  letter  of  the  2d  instant,  which 
I  duly  received,  entirely  justified,  but  could  not  ex- 
ceed the  opinion  I  had  conceived  of  the  Earl  of  Bu- 
chan. I  greatly  respect  the  Scotch  Peerage;  but  I 
feel  a  far  greater  respect  for  persons  possessed  of  ele- 
vated sentiments,  public  and  private  virtue,  and  a 
true  regard  to  the  welfare  of  our  country.  Poor 
Caledonia  has  suffered  and  still  suffers  much,  by  the 
rarity  of  these  qualities  in  men  of  rank.  It  is  now 
visible,  that  neither  high  descent,  great  wealth,  nor 
a  mysterious  and  haughty  behaviour  will  command 
the  esteem  of  freeborn  Britons,  nor  even  of  degene- 
rate Scotchmen,  even  though  attended  with  polite- 
ness of  address,  connections  with  ministry,  and  pos- 
session of  the  most  lucrative  offices.  Since  we  daily 
see  persons  possessed  of  all  these  advantages,  as  far 
from   obtaining  as  they  are  from  deserving  the  re- 

■*  There  is  an  allusion  here  to  a  literary  ^'e?i  rV  esprit  of  a  very  in- 
genious and  highly  amusing  character,  which  Dr.  Nisbet,  a  short  time 
before,  when  on  a  visit  to  the  Earl  of  Lcven's  family  at  Melville 
House,  had  sent  to  the  Earl  of  Buchan. 


HIS    IvIINISTRY    IN    SCOTLASD  95 

jard  of  their  fellow  subjects.  I  hope  your  Lordship 
las  discovered  the  true  secret  of  becoming  import- 
mt,  by  meriting  the  esteem  of  the  public,  instead  of 
challenging  it  as  due  by  hereditary  right,  without 
merit.  In  private  life,  mankind  know  their  friends, 
and  respect  them:  though  I  am  sorry  to  observe  that 
with  regard  to  their  sovereigns  they  have  generally 
paid  the  greatest  honours  to  those  who  do  the  most 
mischief.  It  is  natural  for  great  men  to  desire  to 
rule,  and  to  have  an  extensive  influence  among  their 
inferiors  in  rank,  and  those  are  not  last  in  feeling 
his  desire  who  are  conscious  of  their  title  to  the  re- 
spect of  the  public;  but  if  I  had  the  honour  to  be  ad- 
nitted  of  their  privy  council,  I  would  respectfully 
lint  to  them,  that  they  mistook  the  road  to  influence 
md  esteem,  if  they  thought  of  forcing  it  by  autho- 
rity, or  attracting  it  by  outward  show,  and  the  trap- 
pings of  false  dignity.  To  convince  the  public  that 
one  wishes  their  welfare  will  establish  a  greater  and 
more  permanent  interest  than  legions  of  superiority 
votes,  or  the  temporary  power  of  distributing  places 
and  pensions.  Your  Lordship  has  laboured  to  con- 
vince your  countrymen  that  you  understand  their  in- 
terest, and  are  zealous  to  promote  it.  I  hope  that 
they  will  at  last  be  convinced  of  it,  and  that  the  man 
of  the  people  will  soon  be  a  more  honourable,  as  it 
is  certainly  a  more  solid  distinction,  than  the  friend 
of  the  king.  The  order  of  nature  requires  that  some 
should  be  exalted  above  others;  but  if  those  whom 
Providence  has  exalted,  do  not  show  a  desire  to  be- 
nefit, as  well  as  to  command  others,  they  have  no 
reason  to  complain  when  they  are  neglected  or  de- 
spised by  their  inferiors.     A  little  benevolence,  con- 


96  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET, 

descension  and  humanity  goes  a  great  way,  when  it 
comes  from  persons  of  quality.  And  as  the  virtues 
of  men  of  rank  bear  a  higher  proportion  to  those  of 
others  in  the  esteem  of  the  public  than  that  of  gold 
to  silver,  it  is  not  a  little  surprising  that  persons  of 
distinction  should  be  so  negligent  in  acquiring,  and 
so  parsimonious  in  circulating,  this  sort  of  coin. 
With  the  abilities  they  already  possess,  they  might 
have  far  greater  influence,  and  benefit  their  country 
much  more  into  the  bargain,  if  they  took  care  to 
give  them  a  proper  direction.  A  visible  regard  to 
virtue  and  religion  in  the  representative  of  a  great 
family,  will  go  farther  to  the  reformation  of  their  de- 
pendents and  domestics  than  many  sermons  and  ad- 
monitions. Scotchmen,  above  all  others,  love  to  be 
led  by  authority,  and  to  imitate  the  example  of  their 
superiors;  so  that^those  are  surely  blameable  who  do 
not  acquire  influence  among  us,  where  it  is  so  easily 
gained.  If  the  mere  shadow  of  popularity,  and  an 
artful,  though  counterfeit,  imitation  of  public  virtue, 
have  raised  some  wicked  and  designing  men  to  great 
esteem  and  authority,  what  may  not  we  expect  from 
true  and  permanent  patriotism,  which  is  now  become 
almost  a  title  of  reproach?  I  should  have  asked  par- 
don for  using  a  style  so  different  from  that  in  use,  or 
rather  have  declined  using  it  at  all,  were  I  not  per- 
suaded that  I  know  the  person  to  whom  I  am  writ- 
ing. I  know  that  it  is  commonly  objected  to  political 
reformers,  that  their  notions  are  quite  visionary,  and 
that  they  expect  from  men  a  higher  degree  of  virtue 
than  can  be  found  among  them,  and  that  they  dream  of 
a  Republic  like  Plato's.  But  surely  it  is  no  Utopian 
dream  to  expect  a  much  higher  degree  of  virtue  and 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  97 

public  spirit  than  is  presently  the  ton  among  great 
men;    That  which  has  been  done,  may  be  done  again; 
and  human  nature  may  yet  produce  as  shining  charac- 
ters as  it  has  ever  produced.    I  have  been  much  provo- 
ked at  hearing  human  infirmity  pleaded  in  excuse  for 
the  most  scandalous  enormities,  as  if  men  could  not 
be  men  of  virtue  unless  they  were  canonisable  saints; 
and  as  if  it  were  only  an  imperfection  to  be  an  infa- 
mous knave,  or  a  mischievous  tyrant.     I  wish  our 
times  were  showing  some  symptoms  of  reformation 
by  the  appearance  of  some  more  characters  similar  to 
your  Lordship.     I  consider  you  as  the  Apostle  of 
the  higher  classes,  and  hope  you  will  preach  so  as  to 
make  many  converts.     I  find  the  degeneracy  of  our 
people  prophesied  in  the  Canon  law,  but  lest  I  should 
have  lost  credit  with  your  Lordship  in  quoting  anti- 
quity, I  assure  you  that  the  following  passage  is  co- 
pied from  the  Decretum  Gratiani,  printed  at  Paris, 
1550,  Distinct.    bQ,  fol.    100,  Col.  4.      <  Bonifacius 
Martyr,  Scribens  Regi  Anglorum,'  Si  Gens  Anglo- 
rum,  ait,  *  sicut  per  istas  provincias  divulgatum  est,  et 
nobis  in  Francia  et  in  Italia  improperatur,  et  ab  ipsis 
Paganis  improperium  nobis  objicitur,  spretis  legalibus 
connubiis,  adulterando,  et  luxuriando  ad  instar  sodo- 
miticse  gentis  foedam  vitam  duxerit,  de  tali  commix- 
tione  meretricum  sestimandum  est,  degeneres  populos 
et  ignobiles  et  furentes  libidine  fore  procreandos,  et 
ad  extremum  universam  plebem  ad  deteriora  et  igno- 
biliora  vergentem,  et  novissime  nee  hello  seculari 
fortem,  nee  in  fide  stabilem,  et  nee  honorabilem  Iho- 
minibus,  nee  Deo  amabilem  esse  venturam.'     I  am 
afraid  that  if  any  body  should  write  the  King  of  Eng- 
9 


98  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

land  in  such  a  style  at  this  day,  he  would  quickly 
have  the  same  honour  conferred  on  him  as  St.  Boni- 
face.    I  am  with  sincere  respect," 
"MyLord,'^ 

"  Your  Lordship's  much  obliged,'' 
"  Humble  servant," 

'*  Charles  Nisbet." 
"  The  Right  Honourable,  the 

Earl  of  Buchan,  Edinburgh.^^ 

At  the  Commencement  in  Princeton  College  in 
the  year  1783,  the  Trustees  of  that  Institution,  with 
cordial  unanimity,  conferred  upon  the  subject  of  this 
Memoir  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  He  was 
then  in  the  48th  year  of  his  age.  His  reputation  had 
been  for  several  years  well  and  honourably  known  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic;  and  his  affectionate  friend, 
Dr.  Witherspoon,  the  President  of  the  College,  de- 
lighted, no  doubt,  to  co-operate  in  bestowing  this 
testimonial  of  respect  on  his  old  friend  and  beloved 
brother.  Academical  Degrees  were  never  of  much 
value.  They  are  every  day  becoming  less  and  less 
worthy  of  regard.  But  it  would  be  happy  for  Col- 
leges, as  well  as  for  the  learned  professions,  if  colle- 
gial  honours  were  generally  bestowed  with  as  enligh- 
tened a  regard  to  intellectual  and  literary  merit  as  in 
the  case  of  this  distinguished  man.  It  is  not  impro- 
bable that  this  public  testimonial  of  respect  and  es- 
teem would  have  been  given  at  an  earlier  period,  had 
the  intercourse  between  this  country  and  Great  Brit- 
ain been  regular  and  amicable.  But  a  seven  year's 
war  between  the  United  States  and  that  country  had 


HIS    MINISTRY    IN    SCOTLAND.  99 

scarcely  closed.  During  the  continuance  of  the  con- 
test, the  college  at  Princeton  was  in  a  great  measure 
abandoned;  and  the  usual  interchange  of  kind  offices 
between  Americans  and  Britons  had  been  almost  en- 
tirely suspended. 


100  MEMOIR    OP    DR.   NISBET. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

His  Invitation  and  Removal  to  the   United 
States. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  peace,  measures  were 
taken  to  establish  a  new  College  in  the  town  of  Car- 
lisle, in  Cumberland  county,  Pennsylvania,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  miles  west  of  Philadelphia.  Among 
the  gentlemen  most  zealous  and  active  in  founding 
this  institution,  were  the  Hon.  John  Dickinson, 
then  Governor  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  ce- 
lebrated as  the  author  of  some  eloquent  and  popular 
publications  connected  with  American  Independence; 
Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  William  Bingham,  Esquire, 
Henry  Hill,  Esquire,  and  several  others,  distin- 
guished for  their  wealth,  patriotism,  and  public  spirit. 
This  institution  received  the  name  of  Dickinson 
College,  in  honour  of  the  eminent  statesman  and 
political  writer  who  nominally  took  the  lead  in  its 
establishment,  and  who  was  also  its  most  liberal  be- 
nefactor. This  name  it  still  bears.  Its  erection 
was  no  sooner  agreed  upon,  and  in  some  good  degree 
realized,  in  the  year  1783,  than  the  attention  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  was  directed  to  Doctor  Nisbet,  as 
the  first  President*  of  their  new  College.  This  choice 

*  In  the  Charter  and  laws  of  Dickinson  College,  the  title  of  the 
presiding  officer  was  *'  Principal,"  and  by  that  title  was  Dr.  Nisbet 
addressed  in  all  official  acts.  But  as  this  title  is  scarcely  known,  in 
any  other  instance,  out  of  Scotland;  and  as  to  the  ear  of  a  large  por- 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED   STATES.  101 

was  made  on  the  8th  day  of  April,  1784,  not  only 
with  unanimity,  but  with  a  warmth  and  cordiality 
which  indicated  the  peculiarly  high  estimation  in 
which  his  chafacter  was  held  on  this  side  of  the  At- 
lantic. Measures  were  immediately  taken  to  apprise 
him  of  the  choice,  and  to  urge  him  to  accept  of  his 
new  appointment.  Besides  the  official  communica- 
tion of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  Mr.  Dickinson  and 
Dr.  Rush*  each  addressed  to  him  several  private  let- 
ters, in  which,  with  great  fervour  and  eloquence,  the 
attractions  presented  by  the  office  to  which  he  was 
chosen,  were  earnestly  laid  before  him;  promising 
him  every  thing  that  wealth,  honour,  and  Christian 
kindness  could  bestow,  if  he  would  leave  his  native 
country,  and  accept  the  chair  to  which  he  was  elect- 
ed. This  strain  of  eloquent  importunity,  and  of  high- 
wrought  glowing  anticipation,  especially  character- 
ized the  letters  of  Dr.  Rush,  and  was  adapted  to 
make  a  deep  impression  on  the  mind  ofonewhohad 
never  seen  the  new  world  to  which  he  was  invited, 
and  who  knew  not  from  experience  how  to  estimate 
its  habits  or  its  institutions. 

The  fact  is,  the  establishment  of  Dickinson  Coi- 
tion of  the  American  community  it  would  not  convey  a  very  definite 
meaning — tlie  title  "  President"  is  here  and  elsewhere  used,  as  more 
in  accordance  with  American  usage ;  as  more  universally  intelligible  ; 
and  quite  as  perfectly  in  accordance  with  substantial  fact. 

*  Dr.  Bexja]min  Rush  had  received  his  Medical  education  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh ;  had  been  acquainted  with  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon  in  Scotland ;  had  some  agency  in  prevailing  on  him  to  accept 
the  presidentship  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey;  and,  it  is  believed/ 
during  his  residence  in  Britain,  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  Doctor 
Nisbet,  He  returned  from  Scotland  to  Philadelphia  in  the  year 
1769, 

9* 


102  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

lege  was  not  now  called  for,  either  by  the  resources* 
of  the  country,  or  by  its  literary  wants.  The  "  Uni-^ 
versity  of  Pennsylvania,"  in  Philadelphia,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  "  the  College  of  New  Jersey,"  at 
Princeton,  on  the  other,  furnished  all  the  means  of 
instruction  which  were  then  really  demanded,  and 
indeed  more  than  could  receive  adequate  patronage 
in  the  impoverished  and  embarrassed  state  of  the 
country.  The  small  number  of  students  in  both 
these  institutions  plainly  showed  that  another  was 
not  required.  But  some  movements  of  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Pennsylvania,  in  1779,  in  founding  and  en- 
dowing the  "  University," had  exceedingly  disoblig- 
ed a  number  of  gentlemen  in  Philadelphia,  and  none 
more  than  Dr.  Rush.  He  indulged  a  strong  animo- 
sity against  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ewing,  the  "  Provost"  of* 
the  University,  and  little  less  against  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  the  President  of  the  College  at  Prince- 
ton. From  this  animosity,  there  is  little  doubt, 
arose,  at  least  in  part,  the  plan  of  founding  a  new 
College  at  Carlisle.  Even  the  clergy,  and  other  lite- 
rary men  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  Carlisle, 
did  not  at  first  see  either  the  wisdom  or  the  practi- 
cability of  establishing  the  new  institution.  But  the 
unwearied  zeal  and  eloquence  of  Dr.  Rush,  and  the 
sanguine  hopes  and  promises  of  the  opulent  gentle- 
men in  Philadelphia,  who  lent  their  names,  and 
pledged  their  purses  in  its  behalf,  at  length  removed 
every  difficulty.  Objections  were  obviated.  Pros- 
pects were  made  to  appear  fair.  A  Charter  was  ob- 
tained; and  the  College  set  in  motion  with  flattering 
hopes  of  success. 

All  this  might  have  been  fair  and  proper  enough 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  103 

bad  the  personal  and  domestic  comfort  of  none  been 
implicated  but  those  who  were  acquainted  with  our 
country,  and  capable  of  estimating  the  character  and 
prospects  of  the  projected  institution.  But  the  first, 
and  indeed  the  most  vital  step;  nay,  that  which  was 
relied  on  for  giving  life  and  vigour  and  success  to 
the  whole  plan,  was  to  invite  a  learned  and  venerated 
stranger,  who  was  wholly  unable  to  estimate  the 
probabilities  of  the  case,  to  leave  a  comfortable  sta- 
tion at  home,  and  commit  himself  to  the  fortunes  of 
a  new  and  hazardous  enterprise. 

This  invitation  was  one  of  very  serious  import. 
The  venerable  man  to  whom  it  was  directed  had  now 
passed  the  meridian  of  life;  was  in  a  very  important 
sphere  of  usefulness  as  a  pastor;  was  greatly  respect- 
ed and  beloved  by  a  large  circle  of  friends;  was 
favoured  with  a  temporal  support  equal  to  all  his 
wants;  was  surrounded  with  the  most  ample  means 
of  gratifying  his  literary  and  pious  taste;  and  more 
unfit  than  most  men  of  his  talents  and  learning,  to  be 
a  pioneer  in  the  track  of  a  dubious  enterprise,  or  to 
cope  with,  and  overcome  the  difficulties  of  a  new  in- 
stitution, and  of  a  country  just  starting  in  its  career 
of  independence,  and  national  cultivation.  We  may, 
therefore,  naturally  suppose  that  it  cost  him  many  a 
painful  conflict  before  he  could  persuade  himself  ta 
give  up  all  the  advantages  which  he  enjoyed,  and  to 
cast  himself  upon  all  the  contingencies  of  an  arduous 
and  untried  undertaking. 

While  his  mind  was  agitated  with  the  decision  of 
a  question  so  important  to  the  future  prospects  of 
hinoself  and  his  family,  his  oJd  fciend,  the  Countess. 


104  MEMOIR    OF    i)R.   NISBET. 

of  Leven  and  Melville,  addressed  to  him  the  two  fol- 
lowing letters. 

'^Melville  House,  July  26ih,  1784.'^ 
"Dear  Sir,'' 

"I  received  yours,  with  the  inclosed.  The  day 
on  which  it  came  to  hand  I  have  forgotten,  being 
wholly  engrossed  by  the  present  distress  in  this  fa- 
mily. Lord  Balgonie's  second  son,  one  of  the  finest 
little  creatures  I  ever  saw,  has  been  near  three  weeks 
ill  of  a  worm  fever,  so  that  his  life  is  despaired  of, 
and,  to  all  appearance,  he  cannot  live  long.  I  must 
leave  all  reflections  upon  this  melancholy  event  to 
your  pious  mind.  For  my  part,  I  am  so  overcome 
with  the  thought  of  God's  goodness  in  bestowing  so 
many  comforts  of  this  nature,  and  continuing  them 
so  long,  that  I  cannot  get  utterance  to  speak  of  it.  It 
well  becomes  us  to  be  submissive  to  his  divine  will 
in  all  things.  Parting  with  such  bewitching  com- 
forts is  not  an  easy  duty:  but  God,  by  his  goodness? 
which  endureth  continually,  and  is  ever  a  present 
help  in  time  of  need,  can  make  his  grace  sufficient 
for  us,  and  his  strength  perfect  in  our  w-eakness. 
My  dearly  beloved  Mary — like  the  mother  of  our 
Lord,  ponders  things  in  her  heart,  and  truly  behaves 
in  the  most  exemplary  manner.  Calm  and  quiet  as 
a  weaned  child,  waiting  the  Lord's  will,  and  adoring 
him  as  the  author  of  all  her  mercies,  and  justifying 
him  when  calling  for  what  he  gave*  I  could  write 
a  long  time  on  this  sweet  but  melancholy  subject, 
did  not  my  duty  call  me  to  be  with  her  almost  every 
hour,  when  she  is  not  reposing  for  rest;  and,  indeed, 
I  am  wonderfully  enabled  to  do  more  than  could   be 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  105 

expected  from  my  small  bodily  strength,  and  present 
feelings.  But,  to  the  praise  of  God  be  it  said,  I  have 
ever  found  this  to  be  the  case.'' 

"  I  cannot  mention  the  half  of  the  thoughts  which 
occur  to  my  mind  upon  perusing  your  letter  and  the 
enclosed.  Only  this,  in  general,  I  think  is  plain, 
that  you  ought  to  be  in  no  hurry  with  your  positive 
determination ;  as  the  foundation  of  the  College  seems 
not  yet  to  be  laid.  I  said  before  that  it  would  be  a 
dreadful  idea  to  me  to  say  any  thing  against  a  clear 
call  in  Providence:  and  also  it  would  give  me  pain  to 
think  of  counteracting  a  design  and  earnest  wish  of 
my  kind  friend,  Dr.  Rush,  whose  name,  upon  one 
particular  account,  especially,  will  ever  be  dear  to  me 
and  all  this  family;  and  I  should  be  sorry  he  should 
ever  know  that  I  wrote  to  you  upon  this  subject.- 
But,  at  the  same  time,  as  a  fool  may  give  a  wise  man 
good  counsel,  1  cannot  help  saying  what  occurs  to  me 
on  this  subject.  I  find,  from  what  I  can  learn,  that 
the  whole  originates  from  Dr.  R.  His  temper  is 
warm  and  lively,  and  has  the  same  impression  upon 
the  people  there,  that  his  importunate  expostulations 
have  had  upon  you.  His  eloquence  I  have  had  much 
experience  of  by  a  long  correspondence  with  this  fa- 
mily; and  by  his  persevering,  and  overcoming  all  Dr. 
Ws  difficulties,  which  were  many  and  great,  though 
small,  1  think,  when  compared  with  yours.*  How 
do  you  know  whether  the  forti/  members  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  of  whom  you  have  heard,  will  all 
continue  of  one  mind,  especially  as  they  are  compo- 
sed of  all  sects?     How  will  the  duty  of  teaching 

*  The  Countess  here  probably  refers  to  the  importunity  which  drew 
Dr.  Witherspoon  from  Scotland,  in  which  Dr.  Rush  had  also  a  share. 


106  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

three  hours  every  day  agree  with  you?  How  do  you 
know  but  that  Dr.  — .  is  in  the  right,  and  that  he  is 
really  your  friend,  in  dissuading  you  from  going? 
He  is  a  good  man,  and  we  should  not  suppose  that 
mercenary  views  would  induce  him  to  mislead  a 
brother.  Have  you  a  turn  for  managing  a  farm,  and 
improving  land?  Consider  the  great  difficulties  that 
have  been  surmounted  (if  they  have  been  surmount- 
ed) in  bringing  this  College  to  a  bearing.  Indeed  it 
has  not  yet  come  the  length  of  the  infant  described 
by  the  good  Doctor.  I  find  that  much  of  the  good 
opinion  conceived  of  you  in  that  quarter  rests  upon 
Mr.  B.'s  evidence;  and  how  do  you  know  but  that, 
like  Dr.  — .  you  might  not  bring  the  same  character 
back  with  you  to  Scotland,  that  you  carried  with  you 
to  America?  It  is  a  business  of  importance,  which, 
like  matrimony,  ought  to  be  well  weighed,  as  it  can- 
not ever  be  undone  with  honour.  Remember  that  I 
write  to  you  in  confidence,  never  to  be  read  but  by 
yourself.  But  your  situation  craves  the  attention 
and  the  interference  of  your  friends.  I  wish  I  was  a 
fitter  one  to  advise.  Indeed  it  is  presuming  too  far 
to  say  as  much  I  have  done:  but  the  dread  of  your 
being  decoyed  away  from  your  country  and  friends, 
where  you  and  other  good  people  are  as  much  need- 
ed as  you  can  be  any  where,  makes  me  think  it  ne- 
cessary to  give  only  this  hint,  to  take  good  heed,  and 
ponder  well  the  path  of  duty.  No  doubt  you  have 
done  this:  but  oh!  it  is  sometimes  hard  to  know;  and 
it  is  a  great  mercy  when  the  Lord  sets  a  plain  path 
before  us.  You  seem  to  make  little  account  of  the 
removal  of  an  "obscure  individual:"  but  this  you 
would  not  do,  if  that  individual  was  not  yourself. 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  107 

We  should  not,  I  believe,  so  much  consider  whom 
the  Lord  will  or  can  raise  up,  as  to  work  the  work 
given  XLS  to  do.  I  tremble  while  I  m.ention  this,  and 
am  ready  to  blot  it  out,  when  I  compare  myself  with 
the  person  to  whom  I  write.  But  as  there  are  very 
few  to  do  the  Lord's  work  among  us,  an  obscure  in- 
dividual is  of  great  importance.  We  see  what  great 
things  have  been  sometimes  done  by  an  individual. 
I  dare  say,  it  will  ever  be  your  ^  chief  end  to  glorify 
God,'  wherever  or  in  whatever  work  he  may  be 
pleased  to  employ  you;  but  surely  you  need  not  leave 
this  country  to  seek  opportunities  of  greater  useful- 
ness: and  you  say  yourself,  that  we  should  bless  God 
that  '  we  are  not  persecuted  for  the  faith,  nor  obliged 
to  fly  to  a  different  country  for  safety^ — Uhat  we 
should  be  thankful  for  the  tranquility  of  our  station, 
and  labour  to  improve  it  to  the  honour  of  the  Giver  of 
all  good.'  I  should  think  the  call  to  such  a  sort  of 
vigorous  duty,  was  more  the  province  of  pious  young 
men,  than  one  come  to  your  time  of  life,  with  such 
indifferent  health  as  yours." 

"  ]  took  a  spare  half  hour  to  scribble  this,  at  two 
different  times.  Since  it  was  begun,  it  has  pleased 
God  to  call  away  from  us  our  dear  little  lam.b.  I  can 
only  add,  that  many  merciful  circumstances  might 
be  mentioned.  Oh  that  I  could  be  watchful  in  search- 
ing out  the  innumerable  instances  of  that  love  that 
never  faileth.  Alas,  it  is  little  of  it  we  know.  I, 
in  particular,  inexcusably  neglect  to  observe  and  im- 
prove the  operations  of  his  hands,  who  is  ever  em- 
ployed in  doing  what  is  good  and  best  for  us.  I  am 
sure  you  would  be  pleased  to  see  my  dear  Mary's 
behaviour  upon  this  occasion;  who,  though  one  of 


108  MEMOIR   OP    DR.  NISBET. 

the  most  affectionate,  attentive  mothers,  who  devotes 
her  whole  time  to  her  children,  is,  nevertheless,  as 
composed  and  resigned  as  you  ever  saw  a  person. 
What  a  mercy!  We  have  been  truly  much  afflicted, 
and  no  wonder  upon  this  occasion.  May  the  Lord 
sanctify  the  dispensation,  and  unite  our  hearts  more 
closely  to  himself,  and  be  weaning  them  more  and 
more  from  the  love  of  the  creature!  Pray  for  us, 
dear  sir,  and  believe  me,  with  much  esteem,  &c." 
"Your  sincere  well  wisher," 

"W.  Leven." 
«i?€V.  Br,  Nishetr 

From  the  same. 

^^  Melville  House,  Nov.  20M,  1784." 

«  Dear  Sir/' 

"  I  received  your  long  letter,  and  do  really  regret  the 
trouble  you  take  in  writing  to  me  as  one  of  your  ad- 
visers, which  I  have  told  you  I  never  would  pretend 
to  be;  though  I  felt  an  irresistible  desire  to  offer 
some  thoughts  that  occurred  to  my  weak  judgment, 
perhaps  ill  supported  by  sense  or  argument,  and  also 
too  partial  to  be  sustained  as  of  much  weight.  I  see 
the  wise  and  good  often  so  different  in  their  judg- 
ment in  matters  of  importance,  that  they  think  it 
their  duty  to  argue  and  act  in  opposition  to  their  own 
inclination,  from  a  dread  that  a  bias  that  way  may 
lead  them  to  measures  contrary  to  the  will  and  pro- 
vidence of  God.  But  to  such  tender  consciences,  does 
not  God,  in  mercy,  ordinarily  make  the  way  clear,  and 
scatter  the  clouds  which  darken  their  minds?  Too 
much  consulting  with  flesh  and  blood,  is  not  the'way 
to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth — (but  I  need 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  109 

not  tell   you  this  )     Those  who  advise   to   the  side 
that  nature  leads  to,  are  suspected  of  partiality;  while 
some  who   put   nature  out  of  the  scale  for  others, 
would  find  it  a  more  weighty  matter  were  they  ba- 
lancing for  themselves.     I  think  the  Lord  in  mercy 
often    forms   our  natural   tempers  according  to  the 
work  to  be  done.     You    are  not   endowed   with  a 
hardy  spirit.     You  do  not  seem  form  formed  for  en- 
terprise in  the  bustle  of  public  life.     Perhaps  you 
may  step  out  of  your  proper  sphere  of  action,  in  con- 
tradiction   to  your  own  inclination,  from  a  dread  of 
sinful    indulgence.      Surely,   there   are  many  argu- 
ments on  the  staying  side  y^ry  weighty,  as  well  as 
upon  the    side  of  removing,    had  I  the    pen   of  a 
Rush  to  illustrate  them.     I  do  not  think  his  fixing 
on    you,  at   the  distance  of  twenty  years,  at  all  sur- 
prising.    It  is  a  question  if  he  h-ad  heard  much  con- 
cerning people  in   your  line  during   that  time;  and 
scarcely  of  any  one  whose  character  he  could  depend 
upon  as  friendly  to  America.     So  that  he  had,  per- 
haps, no  choice;  unless,  upon  your  refusal,  he  had 
made  inquiry,  and  consulted  vv'ith  you  and  others  for 
a  suitable  one,  who  had  less   (in  the  Providence   of 
God),  to  detain  him  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  than 
you  have.     I  hope  this  is  no   improper  parenthesis. 
Are   not  your   long  settlement  in  a  charge; — your 
age; — your   wife  and  family; — your   happy  connec- 
tions;— all   detaining  arguments   of  some    weight? 
The  present  call   from  abroad   certainly  appears  far 
from  clear;  and  is  at  best  but  an  indigested  scheme, 
of  the  maturity  of  which  one  may  lawfully  entertain 
great  doubts,  considering  the  contentions  which  at 
present  appear  to  exist  among  them.     Your  ideas  of 
10 


110  MEMOTR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

the  other  side  of  the  water,  present,  I  am  afraid,  too 
flattering  a  picture.  What  good  reason  is  there  to 
believe  that  they  are  a  sheet  of  clean  paper,  as  you 
seem  to  think  they  are?  ^  Every  thing,'  you  say, 
*  is  to  form;  the  minds  of  men  there  are  free  from 
the  shackles  of  authority;  and  can  more  easily  yield 
to  reason,  &c.  &.C.'  I  wish  I  could  perceive  good 
reason  to  see  with  your  eyes,  the  people  there  in 
such  a  favourable  light.  But  though  I  have  ever 
been  partial  to  them,  and  have  fought  many  small 
battles  for  them,  I  cannot  but  believe  that  they  are 
like  ourselves, — much  improved  in  the  knowledge 
and  practice  of  evil.  We  read  of  contentions  and 
animosities  begun  and  carrying  on  with  a  high  hand; 
and  while  there  are  so  many  masters^  I  fear  there 
will  be  constant  division  among  them.'' 

"  I  thought  I  had  put  a  finis  to  this  subject  when 
1  wrote  to  you  at  the  end  of  the  last  month — but 
one  word  brings  on  another;  and  it  is  said  of  our  sex 
that  we  like  to  have  the  last.  But  this  is  not  the  case 
with  me;  for  I  like  to  have  you  in  my  debt,  which 
is  the  reason  I  am  swifi  to  reply.  This  is  little  for 
your  ease,  but  I  can  wait  your  time  till  the  conven- 
ient season  arrives,  and  till  you  get  answers  to  some 
important  queries  you  expected  to  have  solved  be- 
fore you  formed  any  determination.  I  am  always 
angry  at  myself  for  saying  too  much  upon  a  subject 
on  which  I  have  so  little  title  to  advise;  and  yet  al- 
ways fall  into  the  same  error,  though  ready  to  con- 
fess myself  the  most  unfit  of  all  your  correspodents 
to  be  of  any  use  to  you  either  by  prayer  or  counsel, 
though  I  honestly  wish  it  was  otherwise." 

"  I  told  Mr.  T.  of  your  difficulties,  and,  as  impar- 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  Ill 

tially  as  1  could,  your  reasons  for  and  against  remov- 
ing. He  seems  to  think  that  the  state  of  affairs 
there,  and  more  especially  that  of  the  College,  is  very 
precarious;  and  that  it  ought  to  be  further  advanced, 
and  the  state  of  affairs  more  settled,  before  it  would 
be  prudent  to  engage,  or  for  any  to  leave  his 
country,  where  he  is  of  great  use,  which  he  is  cer- 
tain is  the  case  with  you,  and  a  very  wise  sagacious 
man  he  appears  to  be.^^ 

^'The  parish  of  M are  exceedingly  happy 

in  having  obtained  Mr.  T.  for  their  minister;  and 
likewise  rejoice  that  my  Lord  was  victorious  over 
all  the  means  that  could  possibly  be  used  to  defeat 
the  settlement.  But  this  must  be  the  business  of 
conversation,  not  of  correspondence.  About  two 
hundred  of  them  came  here  on  Sabbath  to  hear  him, 
in  a  pour  of  a  rain  and  high  wind,  and  said  they 
were  well  requited  for  their  trouble.  An  elder  said 
that '  had  Lord  Leven  given  the  parish  three  thou- 
sand guineas,  he  would  not  have  made  them  so  hap- 
py. Adieu!  It  is  not  from  having  much  time  to 
spare  that  I  write  you  such  a  long  letter,  but  for  the 
esteem  with  which  I  am," 

"  Your  sincere  well  wisher," 

''  W.  Leven." 

"  Rev,  Br.  Nishety 

"P.  S.  When  an  opportunity  offers  we  shall  be 
very  glad  to  see  you.  Lord  B.  leaves  us  before  or 
about  Christmas.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  them. 
Lord  B.  would  like  to  hear  all  your  ideas  concern- 
ing many  things.     I  do  not  rightly  understand  what 


112  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

you  say  concerning  the  Kast  India  Company,  and 
the  forfeited  estates." 

The  writer  of  the  foregoing  letters  would  have 
been  a  noble  woman  without  her  title.  The  union 
of  so  much  piety,  w^isdom,  unobtrusive  delicacy,  and 
yet  faithfulness  of  friendship,  are  rarely  found  united 
in  epistles  not  intended  for  the  public  eye,  but  as  a 
confidential  testimonial  of  respect  and  Christian  af- 
fection. 

The  reader  will  be  very  much  struck  with  the  con- 
trast between  the  prudence,  the  caution,  and  the  dis- 
cerning hesitation  of  Lady  Leven,  and  the  sanguine 
calculations,  the  unlimited  confidence,  and  the  un- 
qualified promises  of  Dr.  Rush.  He  thus  writes  to 
Dr.  Nisbet. 

"  Philadelphia,  May  1 5M,  1784." 
"  Dear  Sir.^^ 

"I  did  myself  the  honor  of  writing  a  long  letter 
to  you  last  month,  in  which  I  endeavoured  to  state 
your  appointment  to  be  Principal  of  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, in  Cumberland  County,  in  such  terms  as  to  in- 
duce you  to  accept  of  it.  1  informed  you  of  the  great 
opportunities  of  usefulness  which  were  befoce  you, 
and  of  the  happiness  you  might  enjoy  in  your  new 
and  elevated  station.  1  have  now  only  to  add,  that 
the  public  mind  is  more  filled  than  ever  with  expec- 
tations from  your  character.  They  destine  our  Col- 
lege to  be  THE  FIRST  IN  America,  Under  your  direc- 
tion and  government.  The  Ministers  who  compose 
the  Synod  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  begin  to 
feel  themselves  interested  in  your  arrival.     They  ex- 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  113 

pect,  in  proportion  to  your  superior  knowledge  and 
abilities,  that  you  will  bear  a  superior  share  of  the 
labour  in  the  harvest  fields  of  the  church  in  Ameri- 
ca.'^ 

"Mr.  Bowie  tells  me  that  you  have  a  dislike  to 
the  sea.  I  am  not  in  the  least  jealous  of  that  element. 
It  cannot  —it  must  not  separate  you  from  us.  Your 
benevolence  and  sense  of  duty,  I  am  sure,  will  over- 
come every  fear,  and  even  antipathy  itself.  Remem- 
ber the  words  of  the  Saviour — "  It  is  /'^ — '^I,  who 
"  govern  both  winds  and  waves.  I,  who  have  quali- 
"  fied  you  with  so  many  gifts  and  graces  for  the  sta- 
"  tion  to  which  you  are  called.  I,  who  by  my  Pro- 
"  vidence  have  made  your  name  known  and  dear  to 
"the  people  of  America.  I,  who  have  many  people 
"in  that  country,  to  be  enlightened  and  instructed, 
"  directly  or  indirectly,  by  you.  I,  who  preside  over 
"the  whole  vineyard  of  my  Church,  and,  therefore, 
"  know  best  in  what  part  of  it  to  place  the  most  skil- 
"ful  workmen.  It  is  I,  who  call  you  to  quit  your 
"  native  country — and  to  spend  the  remainder  of 
"  your  days  in  that  new  world  in  which  the  triumphs 
"  of  the  Gospel  shall  ere  long  be  no  less  remarkable 
"than  the  triumphs  of  liberty.  I  have  now  done 
"  with  ministers  of  my  Providence.  Washington, 
"  and  the  Adams'  have  finished  their  work.  Here- 
"  after  I  shall  operate  on  the  American  States  chiefly 
"by  the  ministers  of  my  grace." 

"  I  neglected  to  inform  you  in  my  last  letter  of  the 
seal  of  your  College.  The  device  consists  of  a  Bible, 
a  Telescope,  and  a  Cap  of  Liberty — the  two  last 
placed  over  the  first.  The  motto  is  Pietate  et  Doc- 
trina  tuta  libertas.  This  excellent  sentiment  was 
10* 


114  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

suggested  by  our  worthy  Governor,  Mr.  Dickinson, 
a  gentleman  who  unites  with  the  finest  accomplish- 
ments of  the  man,  and  the  patriot,  a  sacred  regard  to 
the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  Christianity.  You  will 
receive  with  this  letter  a  duplicate  of  his  letter  of 
invitation,  together  with  a  copy  of  the  minutes  of 
your  election,  and  No.  3  of  a  bill  of  Exchange.'' 

"  We  expect  to  see  you  this  fall.  I  beg,  upon  your 
arrival  in  our  river,  near  our  city,  that  you  would 
convey  notice  of  it  to  me.  My  carriage  shall  be 
ready  at  a  moment's  warning  to  conduct  Mrs.  Nisbet 
to  my  house;  where  I  shall  insist  upon  you  and  your 
whole  family  making  your  home  till  you  set  out  for 
Carlisle." 

•^  Adieu — yours — yours,  sincerely, 

"B.  Rush." 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet ,  Montrose.^' 

From  the  Same. 
"  Philadelphia,  Ju7ie  1st.   1784." 
"  Dear  Sir.'' 

"A  vessel  that  sails  in  a  few  hours  gives  me  an 
opportunity  of  acknowledging  the  recept  of  your  po- 
lite and  interesting  letter  of  the  5th  of  February  last, 
by  the  English  Packet,  which  came  to  hand  this  day. 
My  letter  by  Captain  T.ofthe22d  of  April,  will 
give  you,  I  hope,  the  satisfaction  you  have  required 
upon  the  subject  of  the  College  at  Carlisle.  Our  pros- 
pects with  respect  to  that  Institution  brighten  daily. 
Our  funds  amount  to  near  three  thousand  pounds; 
and  as  to  buildings,  we  expect  to  purchase  some  pub- 
lic works  built  with  brick,  within  half  a  mile  of  Car- 
lisle, during  the  late  war.     They  are  large  and  com- 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  115 

modious,  and  may  be  had  at  a  small  expense  from  the 
United  States.  Our  Legislature  has  patronized  the 
new  College,  insomuch  that  we  expect  an  endowment 
from  them,  at  their  next  session,  of  five  hundred 
pounds  a  year.  From  the  plans  which  have  been 
adopted  for  obtaining  funds  for  our  College,  we  have 
little  doubt  but  what  we  shall  have  ten  thousand 
pounds  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two,  from  public 
and  private  donations.  Indeed,  sir,  every  finger  of 
the  hand  of  heaven  has  been  visible  in  our  behalf. 
Our  enemies  have  not  only  become  our  friends;^  but 
have  co}it7nbuted  ]sir^e\y  to  our  design.  Dickinson 
College,  with  Dr.  Nisbet  at  its  head,  bids  fair  for 
being  the  first  literary  institution  in  America.'' 

*'  I  am  happy  to  find  that  you  feel  such  an  attach- 
ment to  your  profession  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel. 
You  will  have  an  opportunity  of  preaching  every 
Sunday  at  Carlisle.  It  will  be  expected — nay  more 
— it  will  be  required  of  you  for  the  benefit  of  your 
pupils.  The  pastoral  charge  of  the  Congregation  of 
Carlisle  will  be  given  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Davidson,  who 
will  fill  a  subordinate  Professor's  chair  in  the  College. 
As  the  bounds  of  the  Congregation  extend  four  or 
five  miles  from  Carlisle,  most  of  his  time  will  be 
taken  up  in  visiting  his  people.  His  name  will  be 
of  use  to  us,  for  he  is  a  man  of  learning,  and  of  an  ex- 
cellent private  character.  If  your  preaching  should 
prove  acceptable  at  Carlisle,  (which  I  am  persuaded 
will  be  the  case,  for  you  and  the  Presbyterian  con- 
gregation there  hold  exactly  the  same  principles),  I 
am  well  assured  that  you  will  receive  fifty  pounds  a 
year  from  them,  in  addition  to  your  salary  from  the 
College.     The  duties  of  your  exalted  station,  in  teach- 


116  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

ing — governing — seeing  company — corresponding — 
and  attending  Presbyteries,  Synods,  &c.  will  be  such 
that  you  will  be  glad  to  be  excused  from  performing 
any  other  of  what  are  commonly  called  pastoral  du- 
ties, than  preaching^ 

"Calvinism,  among  Protestants  of  all  denomina- 
tions, is  the  fashionable  religion  of  our  country.  Mr. 
Haslet  (a  disciple  of  Dr.  Priestley^s),  has  attempted 
to  introduce  Socinianism  among  us.  But  he  met  with 
so  little  encouragement,  that  he  is  obliged  to  betake 
himself  to  teaching  in  order  to  gain  bread  for  his 
family.  He  preached  once  in  your  church  in  Car- 
lisle, when  his  principles  were  detected,  and  exposed 
with  all  the  zeal  of  orthodox  indignation.^' 

"I  shall  communicate  your  hints  respecting  pro- 
viding for  emigrants  from  the  North  of  Scotland  to 
some  of  our  enterprising  merchants.'' 

"  The  letter  which  you  will  receive  from  Mr.  Coop-. 
er  and  Mr.  Linn  will,  I  hope,  be  acceptable  to  you. 
The  former  is  a,  learned  and  respectable  divine;  the 
latter  is  an  elegant  scholar,  and  a  very  popular  and 
eloquent  preacher.  They  are  both  men  of  great 
prudence  and  piety." 

'^  Adieu,  yours — yours," 

"Benjamin  Rush." 

"  To  the  Rev.  Br.  Nisbet.'' 

From  the  same. 

'^Philadelphia,  Nov.  28,  1784." 
"  My  Dear  Friend,'^' 

"  I  am  afraid-I  shall  oppress  you  with  the  number 
and  postage  of  my  letters;  but  f  cannot  omit  an  op- 
portunity which  offers  to-morrow,   by  the  way  of 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  Il7 

London,  of  informing  you,  that  I  have  written  three 
letters  to  you  within  these  three  weeks,  in  each  of 
which  I  have  given  you  such  assurances  of  the  safety 
and  flourishing  state  of  our  College,  as  will  determine 
you  to  embark  in  the  spring  for  Pennsylvania.  Mr. 
Dickinson  seems  very  sensible  of  the  prematurity  of 
his  fears  communicated  to  you  by  the  November 
Packet.  You  will  receive  with  my  letters  a  letter 
from  him,  in  which  he  acknowledges  a  change  in  his 
opinions  and  prospects.  If  our  river  should  not 
freeze  before  Christmas,  you  will  receive  a  letter  from 
the  Trustees  in  the  neighborhood  of  Carlisle.  But 
if  the  obstructions  in  our  navigation  should  check  any 
future  opportunities  of  writing  to  you,  you  may  pre- 
sume as  much  upon  their  honour  and  friendship  as  if 
you  had  received  bonds  from  each  of  them.  Not 
only  honour  and  friendship,  but  interest,  patriotism 
and  religion  are  all  concerned  in  your  support.^' 

"  I  find,  by  your  papers,  that  your  ministry  pro- 
pagate as  many  falsehoods  about  us  iioiv  as  they  did 
during  the  war,  when  it  was  more  difficult  than  at 
present  to  contradict  them.  The  factions,  riots,  and 
executions  in  London,  and  the  bankruptcies,  clamours 
and  distresses  of  eveiy  part  of  England  and  Scotland, 
afiord  a  most  striking  contrast  to  the  order,  industry, 
and  contentment  which  prevail  in  every  part  of  this 
country.  After  the  disbanding  of  an  army  of  10,000 
men,  it  was  expected  that  the  strength  of  our  govern- 
ment would  have  been  tried.  But  we  have  happily 
been  mistaken.  Not  a  single  instance  has  occurred 
of  a  soldier  having  broken  the  peace  in  any  one  of 
the  states.  All  the  crimes  that  have  been  commit- 
ted since  the  war,  have  been  by  deserters  from  the 


118  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISEET. 

British  army,  and  emigrants  from  Britain  and  Ire- 
land. And  indeed  even  these  have  been  compara- 
tively few.  The  means  of  subsistence  here  are  so 
easy,  and  the  profits  of  honest  labour  so  great,  that 
rogues  find  it  less  difficult  to  live  by  work  than  by 
plunder.  You  are  at  liberty,  if  you  please,  to  make 
this  information  public  through  the  channel  of  your 
newspapers.'^ 

"  We  have  allotted  a  room  in  our  house  for  your 
reception,  which  goes  by  the  name  of"  Dr.  Nisbet's 
room.''  My  little  folks  often  mention  your  name, 
especially  my  hoys,  who  have  been  taught  to  consi- 
der you  as  their  future  master.  Possibly  this  will  be 
the  last  letter  you  will  receive  from  me  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  To  the  direction  and  protec- 
tion of  Heaven  I  commit  you,  till  I  take  you  by  the 
hand  on  the  peaceful  shores  of  Pennsylvania.  Adieu ! 
Adieu!" 

"  Yours,"  "  BENJiiMiN  Rush." 

"  The  Rev.  Br,  Charles  Nisbet, 
at  Montrose,  Scotland.^' 

In  other  letters,  written  about  the  same  time.  Dr. 
Rush  represents  the  prospects  of  the  rise  and  firm 
establishment  of  the  College  as  unquestionable  and 
brilliant;  assures  Dr.  Nisbet  that  its  funds  were  such 
as  might  be  firmly  relied  on;  that  his  ample  support 
as  President  rested  upon  a  solid  basis  which  could 
not  possibly  fail;  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  embra- 
ced a  large  number  of  men  of  wealth,  several  of  them 
of  very  great  wealth — every  one  of  whom  would  con- 
sider his  estate  and  his  honour  pledged  to  see  that 
their   newly   elected  President   should    not  have   a 


REMOVAL  TO  THE   UNITED  STATES.  119 

want  as  loiip;  as  he  lived;  and  that  the  most  gratifying 
amount  both  of  usefulness  and  honour  awaited  him  on 
his  arrival  in  America,  and  entering  on  his  new 
charge. 

So  far  as  the  College  and  its  endowments  were  con- 
cerned, these  promises,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel, 
were  not  realized,  though  honestly    intended,    and 
ought  never,  in  this  alluring  form,  to  have  been  made. 
There  was,  indeed,  a  moral  impossibility,  that  in  the 
then  existing  state  of  the   country,  immature  in  all 
literary  matters  at  least,  and  just  emerging  from  the 
exhaustion  of  the  severe  revolutionary  contest,  ex- 
pectations thus  excited  should  have  been  satisfacto- 
rily answered.     The  truth  is,  Dr.  Rush  was  an  ardent 
and  sanguine  man.     His  whole  soul  was  embarked  in 
the  cause  of  the  College  at  Carlisle.     His  patriotism, 
and  his  zeal  for  the  advancement  of  literature  were 
unfeigned  and  great;  but  in  his  plans  in  relation  to 
the  College — for  he  might  be  said  to  have  been,  in 
the  outset,  the  master  spirit  of  the  whole  scheme — 
there  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  large  admixture  of  the 
stimulus  of  personal  and  party  feeling.     Without  this, 
the  enterprise  would  scarcely  have  been  undertaken, 
at  the  time,  and  by  the  men  who  urged  it  on:   and 
when  this  stimulus  ceased  to  operate  as  powerfully  as 
at  first,  the  College,  and  its  learned  and  venerable 
Head,  engaged  less  of  the  attention  of  its  original 
friends  than  they  did  in  the  beginning.     New  diffi- 
culties arose;  their  primitive  zeal  had  cooled;-  and 
their  early  pledges  were  in  a  great  measure  forgotten. 
Dr.  Nisbet,  indeed,  was  not  without  some  intima- 
tions unfavourable  to   his  acceptance  of  the  Ameri- 
can call  from  gentlemen  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


120  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET, 

Governor  Dickinson  himself,  at  one  time,  was  dis- 
couraged by  the  aspect  of  things,  and  felt  bound  to 
express  doubts  whether  the  Doctor  ought,  in  exist- 
ing circumstances,  to  take  a  step  so  momentous  to 
himself.  After  the  receipt  of  such  a  communication 
from  such  a  source,  he  seems,  for  a  time,  to  have 
abandoned  all  thoughts  of  coming  to  America.  It 
was  in  this  state  of  mind  that  he  addressed  the  fol- 
lowidg  letter  to  his  old  and  firm  friend,  the  Earl  of 
Buchan: 

"  Montrose,  5th  Jan.  1785." 
"  My  Lord,'' 

"  As  your  Lordship  has  been  so  good  as  to  take 
an  interest  in  my  affairs,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  in- 
form you  of  a  material  alteration  in  them  that  has 
lately  taken  place.  I  received  lately  a  letter  from 
Governor  Dickinson,  informing  me  that,  by  the  new 
elections  on  the  12th  October,  a  great  change  in  the 
political  affairs  of  that  state  has  taken  place;  so  that 
he  thought  himself  obliged,  in  honour  and  justice,  to 
request  me  not  to  think  of  coming  out  to  America 
in  its  present  divided  state.  Since  the  re-admission 
of  the  loyalists  the  majority  is  against  my  friends, 
and  what  is  wonderful,  they  exclude  Quakers,  though 
near  half  the  state,  from  the  privilege  of  citizens, 
giving  as  a  reason  for  it,  their  attachment  to  the  go- 
vernment of  Great  Britain,  and  they  have  now  voted 
out  that  majority  which  voted  them  in.  Perhaps 
this  delusion  may  not  continue.  I  imagined  that  a 
coalition  of  parties  was  in  view,  as  I  received  in  Au- 
gust last,  a  very  polite  and  friendly  letter  from 
General  Reed,  the  head  of  the  now  prevailing  party, 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  121 

expressing  his  great  satisfaction  at  the  news  of  my 
going  to  America,  and  begging  me  to  number  him 
among  my  friends.  But  the  admission  of  the  loyalists 
has  put  that  matter  out  of  sight.  Perhaps  the  late  As- 
sembly of  Pennsylvania  have  been  too  much  in  haste 
to  obtain  the  reputation  of  being  humane  and  merciful, 
by  taking  in  those  who  have  turned  out  themselves. 
If  they  had  contented  themselves  with  restoring  the 
loyalists  to  their  estates,  but  denied  them  the  privi- 
lege of  voting,  till  they  had  passed  a  novitiate  often 
or  twelve  years,  the  present  confusion  might  have 
been  avoided.  The  loyalists  could  have  had  no  ex- 
ception at  being  put  in  the  same  state  in  which  the 
Quakers,  a  more  numerous  and  respectable  body, 
have  remained  for  eight  years  past.  But  imprudent 
counsels  are  common  in  all  states.  Wishing  your 
Lordship  and  Lady  Buchan  many  happy  years,  I 
am,  with  great  esteem," 
"  My  Lord,'' 

"Your  Lordship's  most  obedient,'' 
"Humble  servant," 

"  Charles  Nisbet." 
"  The  Right  Honourable,  the 

Earl  of  Buchan,  EdiyihurghJ' 

To  this  letter,  Lord  Buchan  returned  the  follow- 
ing characteristic  answer: 

"  Reverend  Sir,'' 

"A  mother  whose  constitution  is  broken,  seldom 
produces  healthy  children." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  see  the  features  of  the  mother  grow 
every  day  stronger  in  North  America;  and  I  can  hard- 
11 


122  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

\y  condole  with  you  upon  your  being  obliged  to  live 
among  your  countrymen." 

"  I  flatter  myself  that  posterity  will  discover,  that 
I  have  endeavoured,  not  altogether  without  success, 
to  make  Scotland  more  worthy  of  retaining  you  as  a 
citizen,  and  a  pastor  of  our  Church,  than  it  has  been 
heretofore." 

"  That  you  should  have  been  prevented  from  ac- 
cepting your  appointment  in  the  proposed  College  at 
Carlisle,  by  the  Calvinistic  party  in  Pennsylvania,  is 
amusing  enough;  as  are  the  strange  inconsistencies 
of  admitting  the  loyalists  to  citizenship,  and  exclud- 
ing the  followers  of  the  legislator  or  founder  of  the 
commonwealth." 

"  I  have  marked,  with  a  jealous  eye,  your  whole 
conduct;  and  I  can  find  no  fault  with  it,  but  that  you 
are  more  honest  and  open  than  I  am,  and  that  your 
enemies  have  availed  themselves  of  it." 

"Since  3^our  train  of  thought  has  been  led  to  the 
institution  of  youth,  why  are  you  to  be  prevented 
from  the  exercise  of  your  talents  and  your  laudable 
ambition  here,  because  you  are  not  allowed  by  pru- 
dence to  white-wash  the  ill  instituted  youth  of  a  dis- 
tant country?" 

"  Only  prove  it  is  in  your  power  that  you  can 
make  a  man,  and  you  will  have  many  at  your  com- 
mand. In  the  mean  time,  allow  me  to  call  your  at- 
tention to  a  learned  subject,  which  I  have  been 
lately  endeavouring  to  elucidate — the  prog7^ess  of 
the  Roman  arms  in  your  part  of  the  world,^^ 

"  There  are  the  remains  of  two  camps,  about  six 
miles  from  each  other,  connected  with  a  causeway, 
and  these  are  not  far  from  you.     They  are  called  the 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  123 

Haw-dykes  and  the  Battle-dykes.  Mr.  Jamieson, 
of  Forfar,  has  informed  me  of  them,  and  I  wish  to 
have  a  description  and  measurement  of  them,  accom- 
panied by  a  drawing,  and  a  map  of  the  adjacent 
country,  representing  the  nature  of  the  ground  inde- 
pendent of  cultivation.  From  these,  and  a  string  of 
Roman  entrenchments,  through  Strathmore  to  the 
pass  of  the  Grampian,  near  Slonehive,  I  mean  to  fol- 
low Agricola  in  his  march,  and  to  determine  the 
field  of  the  last  great  battle  where  Galgacus,  and  the 
combined  clans,  were  defeated." 

"  Lady  Buchan  desires  me  to  present  her  compli- 
ments; and  I  am,'^ 

"  Rev'd  sir,  with  great  regard," 

"  Your  obedient  humble  servant," 

"Buchan." 
"  To  the  Rev.  Br.  Nisbet,  Montrose.^^ 

The  suggestion  in  Lord  Buchan's  letter,  that  Dr. 
Nisbet's  election  to  the  Presidency  of  Dickinson 
College  was  opposed  by  "  the  Calvinistic  party  of 
Pennsylvania"  is  as  totally  destitute  of  foundation  as 
possible.  Two  classes  of  persons  only,  so  far  as  is 
now  known,  opposed  the  measure,  viz:  1st,  the  cau- 
tious and  calculating,  who  were  afraid  of  exciting 
expectations  which  could  not  be  fulfilled,  and  who 
strongly  doubted  the  propriety  of  bringing  so  distin- 
guished and  venerable  a  man  from  Great  Britain  to 
a  situation  less  comfortable  than  that  which  he  occu- 
pied in  his  native  country;  and,  2dly,  the  few  who 
feared  that  the  erection  of  a  new  College  in  Carlisle 
might  interfere  with  the  prosperity  of  institutions 
already  existing,  and  with  which  they  were  con- 


124  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET#-^' 

nected.  But  Calvinism,  assuredly,  formed  no  part 
of  the  dividing  line  in  either  case.  Among  all  the 
opposers  of  both  classes,  only  one  nominal  Calvinist 
is  now  recollected;  whereas  the  great  mass  of  Cal- 
vinistic  influence  in  Pennsylvania  was  ultimately  in 
favour  of  Dr.  Nisbet's  appointment. 

In  the  mean  while,  some  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
College,  having  heard  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  letter  to 
Dr.  Nisbet,  and  the  unfavourable  impression  which 
jt  had  made  on  his  mind,  although  there  could  not  be 
a  formal  meeting  of  the  Board,  determined  to  address 
to  him  a  joint  and  countervailing  communication. 
This  was  done  in  the  following  terms: 

'^ Philadeljohia,  Nov.  IQth,  1784.'' 
«  Sir;' 

"Mr.  Dickinson  having  communicated  to  us,  the 
subscribers,  Trustees  of  the  College  at  Carlisle,  occa- 
sionally met  in  Philadelphia,  a  copy  of  his  letter  to 
you  of  the  25th  of  October,  we  are  happy  in  an  op- 
portunity of  informing  you  that  we  conceive  the 
apprehensions  and  fears  contained  in  that  letter  to  be 
wholly  without  foundation." 

"We  beg  leave  to  inform  you  that  the  aforesaid 
letter  was  written  by  Mr.  Dickinson  in  his  private 
capacity,  without  the  knowledge  of  any  one  of  the 
Trustees,  and  that  we  are  fully  of  the  opinion  that 
the  charter  of  our  College  is  as  secure  as  any  private 
property  in  the  state." 

"'We  expect  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in 
the  spring,  and  to  realize  all  our  expectations  of  the 
future  usefulness  of  our  College,  from  your  patron- 
age as  its  Principal." 


REMOVAL    TO    THE    UNITED    STATES.  125 

"  In  the  mean  while,  we  beg  you  would  place  the 
fullest  confidence  in  the  assurances  and  obligations 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  contained  in  their  public 
letter  of  the  30th  of  September  last,  which  was  signed 
by  their  order,  by  the  President  of  our  Board." 

"  With  sincere  wishes  for  your  prosperous  voy- 
age to  America,  and  assurances  of  future  friendship, 
we  are," 

"  Sir," 

"  With  great  respect," 

"  Your  obed't  humble  serv'ts," 

^r  TT  r    Collesre  of  Car- 

Henry  Hill,  f   ^.^^J     -^ 

Benj'n  Rush,  J 

After  much  hesitation,  and  many  conflicts,  the  im- 
portunity and  solemn  assurances  of  Dr.  Rush,  and 
other  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  prevailed. 
Dr.  Nisbet  declared  his  acceptance  of  the  office  to 
which  he  had  been  elected,  and,  in  a  short  time,  pre- 
pared for  his  voyage  to  America. 

In  taking  leave  of  the  Presbytery  of  Brechin,  of 
which^4ie  had  been,  for  many  years,  a  member,  the 
following  testimonial  was  given  him  by  that  body; 
which,  as  it  is  much  more  extended  than  is  com- 
monly given  on  such  occasions,  and  especially  as  it 
was  voted  by  a  body  in  which  he  had  long  been, 
and  continued  to  be,  in  a  struggling  and  persevering 
minority,  a  minority  to  many  of  the  important  and 
controuling  members  of  the  church  of  Scotland  in 
no  small  degree  ofiensive,  is  the  more  worthy  of  re- 
gard. Such  a  testimonial,  in  such  circumstances 
11* 


136  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

could  not  have  been  accorded  except  to  a  man  whose 
talents,  learning,  and  acknowledged  piety,  were  so 
pre-eminent  as  to  triumph  even  over  party  animo- 
sity. 

"At  Brechin,  the  6th  day  of  April,  1785,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet,  who  has  been  minister  of 
Montrose,  within  the  bounds  of  this  Presbytery, 
since  the  17th  day  of  May,  1764,  having  signified 
to  us  his  intention  of  removing  from  his  present 
charge  to  a  settlement  in  a  distant  part  of  the  world, 
We  hereby  certify,  that  the  said  Dr.  Nisbet,  has,  dur- 
ing the  time  of  his  residence  within  our  bounds,  dis- 
charged the  several  duties  of  the  pastoral  office,  with 
great  faithfulness,  diligence,  and  assiduity;  and  that 
his  conduct,  both  in  private  and  in  public  life,  has 
been  in  every  respect  unexceptionable,  and  highly 
ornamental  to  his  character  and  profession,  as  a  Chris- 
tian, and  a  minister  of  the  Gospel.  We  deplore  his  re- 
moval, as  depriving  this  Presbytery  of  a  worthy  and 
valuable  member;  as  a  loss  to  the  town  and  parish 
of  Montrose  in  particular,  and  to  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land in  general;  and  we  are  fully  confident,  from  our 
own  knowledge  and  experience,  that  he  will  prove  a 
real  blessing  to  any  Christian  society  in  any  part  of 
the  world,  with  which  he  may  happen  to  be  con- 
nected, and  in  any  station  or  department  in  which 
Providence  may  place  him.  Signed  in  the  name,  in 
the  presence,  and  by  the  appointment  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  Brechin,  at  Brechin,  place  and  date  as  above, 
by''  "  Robert  Hannah,  Moderator .^^ 

"John  PiRiE,  Clerks 

But  before  Dr.  Nisbet  left  Scotland,  his  faithful 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  127 

and  anxious  friend,  Lady  Leven,  addressed  to  him 
the  following  letters: 

^'Melville  House,  Jan..  17,  1785.'' 
''Ddar  Sir;' 

"  I  intended  to  have  written  to  you  before  now, 
had  not  the  high  postage  laid  an  embargo.  Mr.  Mar- 
tin has  been  so  good  as  to  give  me  a  reading  of  your 
letter  to  him,  which  is  the  cause  of  my  taking  the  pen 
immediately;  in  case  I  should  by  mistake,  be  classed 
among  your  "  mistaken  Right  Honourable  friends;" 
that  I  may  assure  you,  that  whoever  these  may  be, 
I  never  was  among  the  number;  but  had  penetration 
enough,  upon  the  first  reading,  to  discover  the  true 
import  of  the  words.  And  I  really  tliink  it  required 
but  a  small  degree  of  penetration  to  pass  a  true  judg- 
ment upon  them  by  any  person  who  knows  the  au- 
thor's manner  and  feelings.  I  thought  the  words 
alluded  to  could  never  have  been  construed  in  any 
light  but  in  jest,  though  the  writer  had  been  un- 
known; but  surely  none  that  know  the  humanity  of 
your  disposition,  and  your  sympathy  with  all  in  dis- 
tress, could  suppose  you  guilt}''  of  hard  measures.  1 
think  it  was  not  prudent  to  write  in  that  style  to  such 
a  distance.  The  other  particulars  of  your  letter  to 
Mr.  W.  I  remember  little  about;  the  note  about  the 
Loyalists  being  the  only  thing  I  had  taken  notice  of, 
and  on  which  I  was  at  a  loss  for  a  commentary.  I 
hope  you  keep  good  health  in  this  severe  season. 
Both  my  Lord  and  I  have  been  ailing.  He  has  shar- 
ed in  a  distemper  very  epidemic  of  late  in  many 
places,  a  complaint  in  the  bowels,  attended  with  a 
flux.     He  is  now  pretty  well  again.     A  great  mercy 


128  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

— among  many  mercies  to  his  family,  that  cannot  be 
numbered." 

"  We  have  no  word  yet  of  the  ship  in  which  our 
son  David  sailed  for  Gibraltar  the  end  of  November 
last,  which  is  matter  of  great  anxiety  to  my  mind. 
Dr.  Erskine's  only  remaining  son  has  been  very  ill, 
and  is  still  far  from  well.  They  dreaded  water  in 
his  head.     The  worthy  man  is  very  low." 

''  I  only  got  your  letter  yesterday  from  Mr.  M.  He 
only  got  it  himself  on  Saturday,  as  he  had  been  in 
Edinburgh.  I  should  not  write  so  soon,  but  did  not 
wish  that  you  should  suppose  me  so  ignorant  of  your 
Christian  disposition  as  to  misconstrue  your  words 
when  they  would  bear  a  meaning  that  implied  no 
evil." 

"In  haste,  adieu.  I  take  the  opportunity  of  our 
carrier  to  send  this  to  Edinburgh.  I  am.  Reverend 
and  dear  sir, 

"  Yours,  with  great  regard," 

"  W.  Leven." 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbef,'' 
"  Montr osQ.^^ 

From  the  same. 

"  Melville  House,  March  23,  1785." 
"  Rev.  and  worthy  Sir.'' 

"  It  was  lucky  for  me  that  your  final  departure  was 
sudden  and  unexpected  the  day  you  left  Melville 
House.  I  had  no  apprehension  that  it  was  to  be  the 
last  meeting.  It  is  always  very  hard  upon  me  to  bid 
adieu  to  a  friend,  much  more  especially  when  I  never 
expect  to  see  him  again.  You  have  by  this  time,  no 
doubt,  felt  enough  of  this  trial,  which  to  me  is  al- 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UJ5ITED  STATES.  129 

ways  aflfecting.  I  intended  writing  to  you  before 
now,  but  waited  for  some  convenient  opportunity. 
But  upon  hearing  accidentally  that  you  was  to  be  at 
Dundee  on  Wednesday,  on  your  way  to  Greenock, 
I  take  up  the  pen  to  express  my  good  wishes  for  a 
safe  and  easy  passage,  and  that  you  may  be  long  pre- 
served for  valuable  purposes.  I  heartily  sympathize 
with  Mrs.  Nisbet.  If  her  views  are  not  clear  as  to  the 
path  of  duty,  she  must  suffer  deeply .  I  beg  that  you 
will  write  to  me  sometimes.  And  do  not  conceal 
the  truth,  if  matters  do  not  answer  your  expectations. 
I  still  think  you  have  been  hurried  off  this  stage, 
which  I  do  most  sincerely  regret.  My  worthy 
friend.  Dr.  Rush  and  I  would  be  antipodes  in  your 
affairs.  I  beg,  however,  that  you  will  assure  him  of 
my  constant  love  and  regard,  for  the  friendly  duty 
he  performed,  to  the  last  remains  of  Him,  whom  I 
loved  as  my  own  life.*     I  have  half  written  several 

*  The  repeated  and  strong  expressions  of  grateful  attachment  to  Dr. 
Rush,  on  the  part  of  the  Countess  of  Leven  and  her  family  cannot  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  any  attentive  reader.  It  is  due  to  the  memory  of 
both  paities  to  assign  the  reasons  of  this  attachment.  When  Dr. 
Rush  vi^as  pursuing  his  medical  studies  in  the  University  of  Edin- 
burgh, he  became  particularly  acquainted  with  the  Earl  of  Leven's 
family,  and  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  Melville  House.  Nor  will  any 
one  who  ever  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  refined  and  polish- 
ed manners,  and  the  peculiarly  fascinating  conversational  powers  with 
which  he  was  endowed,  wonder  that,  when  he  returned  to  America, 
he  left  behind  him  in  such  a  family,  not  only  a  respectful,  but  even 
an  affectionate  memorial.  But  there  was  another  tie  still  more  tender 
and  deeply  interesting  which  bound  him  to  that  noble  family. 

In  the  British  army  sent  over  for  the  subjugation  of  the  Colonies, 
the  Earl  of  Leven  had  a  son — the  honorable  Captain  William  Leslie, 
of  the  17th  Regiment,  who  is  said  to  have  been  an  elegant  and  pro- 
mising young  man.     In  the  battle  of  Princeton,  January  3d,  1777, 


130  MEMOIR   OP    DR.  NISBET. 

letters  to  him,  and  write  him  many  in  my  thoughts; 
but  never  could  get  one  completed  that  pleased  me. 
My  Lord  has  written  to  the  Doctor  three  or  four 
times,  both  before  and  since  hostilities  closed.  I 
hope  he  has  received  some  of  them.  I  would  not  for 
any  thing  have  him  suspect  any  diminution  of  the 
grateful  sense  which  all  this  family  will  ever  retain 
of  the  regard  due  to  one  who  showed  himself  to  be 
such  a  friend  in  a  far  country.  It  gives  me  great 
pleasure  to  learn,  from  time  to  time,  that  he  is  so 
happy  in  his  domestic  concerns.  I  have  desired  my 
daughter  to  put  into  your  keeping  a  smidl  box  direc- 
ted to  Dr.  Rusli,  which  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  take 
care  of  and  deliver  to  him." 

this  young  officer  was  among  the  slain.  After  the  retreat  of  the  Bri- 
tish, leaving  a  number  of  their  killed  and  wounded  on  the  held,  Uene- 
ral  Washington,  accompanied  by  Doctor  Rush — then  Physician  Ge- 
neral of  the  American  army — and  several  other  gentlemen,  rode  up 
to  that  part  of  the  ground  on  which  the  greatest  number  of  the  killed 
and  wounded  were  lying,  and  made  some  inquiry  concerning  the 
regiments  which  had  been  engaged,  and  especially  respecting  the 
body  of  an  officer  immediately  in  view,  which  attracted  his  particular 
attention.  It  was  answered,  that  that  was  the  body  of  ^he  honourable 
Captain  Leslie,  of  the  17th  Regiment.  Upon  hearing  this,  Dr.  Rush 
was  much  affected;  immediately  dismounted;  with  the  aid  of  a  servant, 
laid  the  body  on  a  suitable  vehicle,  which  happened  to  be  near  at  hand; 
took  it  with  him  when  the  American  army  withdrew  from  Princeton  • 
and  when  they  halted  at  Pluckamin,  a  small  village,  a  httle  more  than 
twenty  miles  north  of  Princeton,  caused  the  interesting  remains  of  his 
friend's  son  to  be  interred  with  appropriate  honours  and  solemnity.  This 
distinguished  respect  and  sympathy  on  the  par^  of  an  old  acquain- 
tance— now  a  magnanimous  foe — made,  as  it  well  might — a  deep  im- 
pression on  the  minds  of  the  Earl  of  Lcvcn's  family.  That  it  should 
never  be  effaced  frorh  a  mother's  heart,  every  one  acquainted  with  ma- 
ternal feelings  would,  of  course,  expect. 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  131 

"  I  write  this  in  a  hurry,  having  no  time  to  lose. 
I  shall  wish  you  and  your  family  well,  in  all  places, 
and  at  all  times;  being,  with  much  esteem  and  regret, 
your  humble  servant," 

''  W.  Leven.'' 
"  T/ie  Rev.  Dr,  Charles  Nisbet." 

After  perusing  such  letters  as  these,  it  is  probable 
that  every  reader  will  feel  more  and  more  surprise, 
that  Dr.  Nisbet,  after  having  lived  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury in  Scotland,  and  after  having  long  enjoyed  the 
intercourse  and  affectionate  confidence  of  .swcA  friends, 
should  consent  to  tear  himself  away  from  their  socie- 
ty, and  from  all  the  attractions  connected  with  it,  and 
to  launch,  after  having  passed  the  meridian  of  life, 
into  new  scenes;  among  entirely  new  connections; 
and  on  a  theatre  of  action  as  arduous  as  it  was  un- 
tried and  responsible. 

Nor  did  Dr.  Rush's  generous  conduct  end  here.  Knowing  that  the 
location  of  the  remains  of  a  stranger,  deposited  in  an  obscure  village 
church  yard,  might  soon  pass  from  the  memory  of  those  who  felt  little 
interest  in  the  deceased,  he  caused  a  handsome  marble  monument  to 
be  erected  over  the  grave,  bearing  the  following  inscription: — 

"  In  memory  of 

The  Honourable  Captain  William  Leslie, 

Of  the  17th  British  Regiment, 

Son  of  the  Earl  of  Leven, 

In  Scotland. 

He  fell  January  3d,  1777,  aged  26  years, 

At  the  battle  of  Princeton. 

His  friend,  Benjamin  Rush,  M,  D. 

Of  Philadelphia, 

Hath  caused  this  stone  to  be  erected, 

Asa  mark  of  his  esteem  for  his  worth, 

And  of  his  respect  for 

His  noble  Family." 


132  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

Yet  when  we  consider  the  pictures  of  certain  and 
great  usefulness  which  were  held  up  to  his  view;  the 
prospect  of  being  able  to  raise  the  standard  of  knowl- 
edge and  intellectual  improvement  in  the  new  world; 
and  the  solemn,  reiterated  pledges  of  ample  and  even 
generous  support  to  the  end  of  life,  given  by  men  of 
so  much  elevation  in  society,  we  shall  easily  be  able 
to  understand  how  his  difficulties  were  overcome,  and 
he  constrained  to  commit  his  future  comfort  to  the 
.new  enterprise. 

Dr.  Nisbet  sailed  from  Greenock,  with  his  family, 
on  the  23d  day  of  April,  1785,  and  after  a  voyage  of 
what  was  then  deemed  a  medium  length,  and  mark- 
ed by  no  very  unusual  circumstances,  landed  at  Phi- 
ladelphia on  the  9th  day  of  June  following.  He  was 
now  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age.  He  had  lost  by 
death  four  children, — two  sons  and  two  daughters  in 
Scotland.  The  family  which  he  brought  with  him 
consisted  of  Mrs.  Nisbet,  together  with  two  sons  and 
two  daughters.  Thomas,  the  elder  of  the  sons,  had 
passed  through  a  regular  course  of  study,  and  been 
graduated  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  before  he 
left  Scotland.  He  was  a  young  man  of  uncommon- 
ly fine  talents,  and  of  accurate  and  mature  scholar- 
ship, and  promised,  at  that  time,  to  be  an  ornament 
and  a  blessing  to  his  family. 

Dr.  Nisbet  remained  with  his  family  in  Philadel- 
phia nearly  three  weeks  after  their  arrival.  During 
this  time,  according  to  a  previous  arrangement,  the 
house  of  Dr.  Rush  was  their  home.  Here  they  re- 
ceived all  those  kind  and  polite  attentions  from  the 
family  of  their  host,  and  from  the  citizens  of  Phila- 
delphia, which  strangers  so  interesting,  and  so  high- 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  133 

ly  esteemed  might  have  been  expected  to  draw  from 
an  intelligent  and  polished  community. 

During  this  interval  he  paid  a  short  visit  to  his  old 
friend,  Dr.  Witherspoon,  of  Princeton,  by  whom  he 
was  cordially  received,  and  introduced  to  the  litera- 
ry gentlemen  connected  with  the  College  in  that 
place. 

In  four  or  five  days  after  his  arrival  in  Philadel- 
phia, he  wrote  thus  to  his  friend,  the  Earl  of  Buchan : 

^'  Philadelphia,  June  131  h,  1785." 
"  Ml/  Lord," 

"  As  your  Lordship  is  kind  enough  to  take  an  in- 
terest in  my  affairs,  I  give  you  the  trouble  of  this  to 
inform  you,  that  after  a  pretty  good  passage  of  seven 
and  forty  days,  I  arrived  here  on  Thursday  last  at 
three  o'clock  afternoon.  We  had  several  smart  gales, 
and  one  calm  with  a  high  sea,  near  the  banks  of 
Newfoundland.  I  used  the  directions  I  got  from 
your  Lordship,  having  procured  a  bag  of  saffron  at 
Greenock.  I  had  no  attack  of  the  sea  sickness  all 
the  passage,  but  my  youngest  boy  had  it  severely  for 
eight  days,  but  is  now  well  recovered.  The  spring 
has  been  rainy  and  backward  in  this  country.  The 
weather  is  only  become  fine  and  clear  since  our  ar- 
rival. 'The  heats  however  are  not  yet  come  on.  I 
have  been  waited  on  since  my  coming  here  by  many 
people  of  property  and  influence  in  this  State,  from 
whom  1  have  received  every  mark  of  respect  and 
attention,  and  the  republicans  here,  I  am  assured, 
never  deign  to  bestov/  these  where  they  are  not  in 
earnest,  as  they  have  nothing  to  ask  of  any  man  liv- 
ing. I  lodge  with  my  family  in  Dr.  Rush's  house 
12 


134  MEMOIR  or  DR.  NISBET. 

where  we  are  entertained  with  a  hospitality  that 
would  do  honour  to  any  age  or  country.  I  have  been 
visited  by  sundry  ministers  of  the  English,  German 
and  Scotch  churches,  who  have  cordially  welcomed 
me  to  this  country.  Party  spirit  is  beginning  to  sub- 
side, and  commerce  appears  to  flourish,  from  the  vast 
number  of  ships  of  all  nations  with  which  the  river 
is  lined  for  a  mile  and  an  half  opposite  this  city. 
Every  thing  seems  quiet  and  orderly,  and  those  in 
office  are  respected  by  all  parties.  A  Spanish  fri- 
gate brought  over  an  Ambassador  from  his  Catholic 
Majesty  to  the  United  States.  England,  who  will 
send  none,  has  fairly  outdone  the  Spaniards  in  haugh- 
tiness.  The  people  here  bear  no  grudge  at  Great 
Britain,  and  continue  to  prefer  her  manufactures.  I 
am  assured  that  British  debts  are  recovered  every 
day  in  the  courts  of  this  State,  whatever  is  said  on 
your  side  the  Atlantic,  Dr.  Rush  has  written  an 
Essay  on  the  progress  of  Agriculture  and  Population 
in  Pennsylvania  for  the  information  of  a  friend  in 
London.  I  have  begged  a  copy  to  enclose  for  your 
Lordship,  with  which  I  hope  you  will  not  be  dis- 
pleased. As  Agriculture  and  Commerce  are  the  chief 
objects  here,  there  cannot  be  much  literature,  though 
I  am  assured  there  are  more  than  could  have  been 
expected,  who  possess  no  small  degree  of  learning. 
There  is  a  Philosophical  Society  in  this  city,  which 
has  subsisted  for  some  time,  and  has  already  pub- 
lished a  volume  of  their  transactions.  They  are 
just  now  getting  a  hall  built  for  their  meetings,  the 
Assembly  having  given  them  the  ground  for  that 
purpose.  Perhaps  it  is  possible  to  make  the  sciences 
Nourish  without  royal  patronage.     The  like  societies 


REMOVAL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES.  135 

exist,  as  I  am  informed,  in  the  Ncrthern  States,  and 
are  rising  to  reputation.  If  this  country  continues 
in  peace  for  a  considerable  time,  as  1  hope  it  will, 
learning  and  good  taste  may  be  diffused  among  its 
citizens  to  a  much  greater  degree  than  at  present,  as 
they  are  still  far  from  having  acquired  that  portion 
of  wealth  which  enervates  the  mind,  and  renders  it 
incapable  of  exertion.  1  should  imagine  likewise 
that  the  general  sobriety  that  prevails  here,  must  be 
favourable  to  regular  thinking  and  distinct  perception. 
The  West  Indians,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  South- 
ern States,  on  account  of  their  dissipation  and  intem- 
perance, cannot  be  expected  to  figure  in  science,  or 
even  to  live  so  long  as  to  be  able  to  acquire  it.  The 
mania  of  purchasing  vast  quantities  of  land  prevails 
not  a  little  among  the  people  of  property  in  this  coun- 
try. Many  are  distressed,  and  unable  to  pay  their 
debts,  merel}'^  on  account  of  their  extensive  purchases. 
The  mania  of  possessing  land  after  the  price  is  spent, 
is  the  nearest  thing  you  have  to  it  in  Great  Britain. 
The  greatest  inconvenience  of  this  country  at  pre- 
sent is  the  suspension  of  private  credit,  which  keeps 
much  money  out  of  circulation,  and  the  want  of  ex- 
ports to  answer  their  imports.  Luxury  in  dress  and 
furniture  prevails  more  than  excess  in  eating  and 
drinking.  Frugality  and  moderation  is  rendered 
more  difficult  by  the  vast  importations  of  European 
goods.  The  intercourse  with  the  Spanish  settle- 
ments is  perhaps  the  most  profitable  branch  of  trade 
possessed  by  these  States.  It  is  much  to  be  wished 
that  they  may  cultivate  the  friendship  of  that  Court. 
But  this  may  be  rendered  difficult  by  the  high  spirit 
and  thoughtlessness  of  our  back  settlers.     In  regard 


136  MEMOIR    01    DR.  NISBET. 

to  my  own  affairs,  my  prospects  are  more  encoura- 
ging than  I  expected.  I  mean  to  leave  this  city  next 
week,  as  some  gentlemen  of  Carlisle  are  expected  to 
convey  me  thither.  No  regulations  are  yet  estab- 
lished, and  the  whole  will  be  left  to  my  discretion. 
I  have  not  been  at  Princeton,  and  perhaps  may  not 
have  it  in  my  power  to  get  there  till  September  next. 
If  your  Lordship  desires  any  information  from  this 
country  which  I  can  furnish,  I  shall  be  proud  to  re- 
ceive your  commands.  I  beg  my  sincere  respects  to 
Lady  Buchan,  and  remain," 
"My  Lord," 

"  Your  Lordship's  most  obedient," 
"  Humble  servant," 

*^  Charles  Nisbet." 
"  The  Bight  Honourable,  the 

Earl  of  Buchan,  Edinburgh,''^ 


RESIDENCB    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  13.7 

CHAPTER    V. 
His  Residence  in  the   United  States. 

Early  in  July,  1785,  Doctor  Nisbet  set  out  from 
Philadelphia,  for  Carlisle,  and  reached  it  on  the 
fourth  of  that  month,  in  the  midst  of  the  spirited 
and  patriotic  celebration  of  the  Anniversary  of  Inde- 
pendence. The  inhabitants  of  the  town  and  neigh- 
bourhood, who  had  assembled  in  great  numbers  to 
commemorate  the  day,  being  informed  of  his  ap- 
proach, dispatched  a  deputation  of  the  citizens,  toge- 
ther with  the  Carlisle  troop  of  horse,  to  escort  him 
into  the  borough.  He  entered  it  in  the  midst  of  joy 
and  congratulation,  and  was  received  and.  treated 
with  all  those  marks  of  respect  and  esteem  which 
distinguished  and  long  expected  strangers,  having  so 
many  strong  claims  on  the  public  favour,  had  a  right 
to  anticipate.  On  the  next  day,  the  5th  of  July,  the 
oath  of  office  was  administered  to  the  Doctor;  and 
he  immediately  began  to  address  himself  to  those 
duties  which  devolved  on  the  Head  of  an  infant  In-. 
stitution,  existing,  as  yet,  chiefly  on  paper;  whose 
students  were  to  be  attracted;  whose  character  was. 
to  be  formed;  and  whose  success,  under  God,  was  to 
be  insured  only  by  the  wisdom  and  reputation  of  a. 
distinguished  individual  called  to  preside  over  it. 

It  was  on  this,  occasion,  that  Dr.  Nisbet  delivered- 
the  only  discourse  that  he  ever  allowed  to  be  printed. 
It  was  founded  on  ^cts  vii.  22:  ^*  t/2nd  Moses  w^s, 
12* 


138  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  and 
vjas  inighty  in  words,  and  in  deeds.^'  The  scope 
of  the  sermon  was  to  show  "the  importance  of  the 
union  of  piety  and  learning. ''  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say  that  the  sermon  was  an  able  one,  and  that 
those  who  have  read  it,  have  been  disposed  instinc- 
tively to  regret  that  the  author  should  not  have  pub- 
lished much  more. 

Scarcely  had  he  entered  on  the  arduous  duties  of 
this  new  and  responsible  office,  before  he  and  several 
members  of  his  family,  were  attacked  with  a  severe 
and  protracted  illness.  Although  Carlisle  and  its 
neighbourhood  have,  in  general,  been  and  still  are 
considered  as  rather  remarkably  healthy;  yet  th esse 
interesting  strangers  underwent  what  has  been  called 
a  seasoning  to  the  climate,  of  the  most  dangerous 
and  trying  kind.  Most  of  them  were  seized  with 
an  obstinate  fever,  which  brought  them  very  low, 
and  from  which  their  recovery  was  difficult  and  ex- 
tremely slow.  The  Doctor  himself  suffered  more 
severely  than  any  other  member  of  the  family.  His 
strength  was  so  greatly  reduced  by  the  obstinate 
continuance  of  the  disease,  that  he  was  confined  in  a 
great  measure  to  his  house  for  several  months,  and 
rendered  wholly  unfit  for  any  effort,  either  bodily  or 
mental;  and  so  completely  discouraged,  that,  on  the 
ISth  of  October  following  his  arrival,  he  sent  in  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  College,  his  resignation 
of  the  office  of  President,  and  determined  on  return- 
ing to  Scotland.  The  Board  received  this  commu- 
nication with  great  regret,  and  were  unwilling  to 
accept  it.  But  finding  the  Doctor's  mind  filled  with 
the  most  gloomy  impressions  concerning  his  pros- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  139 

pects,  and  in  a  state  which  precluded  the  hope  of 
being  able  to  retain  him,  they  at  length,  with  much 
reluctance,  determined  to  yield  to  his  desires,  and 
accepted  his  resignation. 

In  this  state  of  depression  and  despondency,  he 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Buchan: 

"  Carlisle,  i5t/i  December,  1785." 
''  My  Lord r 

^' I  had  the  honour  of  your  Lordship's  esteemed 
letter  of  the  14th,  Sept.  eight  days  ago.  It  will  no 
doubt  surprise  you  to  learn  that  I  am  preparing  to 
leav^e  this  country  by  the  first  opportunity.  I  have 
not  been  in  a  condition  to  enjoy  life,  or  do  business 
since  I  entered  it.  The  great  heats,  though  last  sum- 
mer was  one  of  the  mildest  ever  known  here,  are  be- 
yond the  conception  of  any  person  who  has  not  felt 
them.  Fevers  and  agues  are  the  reigning  distresses, 
to  some  they  are  annual  and  periodical,  and  in  all 
cases  most  violent  and  oppressive  to  the  nervous  sys- 
tem. I  run  a  great  risk  of  falling  a  sacrifice  to  the 
climate.  My  whole  family  were  ill  for  three  months 
together^  and  I  have  heard  of  their  lasting  five  years. 
Immoderate  heat  extinguishes  activity,  and  damps  the 
spirit  of  enterprise  in  persons  of  my  weak  nervous  con- 
stitution. I  can  give  no  other  reason  for  the  universal 
gravity  that  reigns  among  the  people  of  this  country, 
but  that  their  nerves  are  quite  relaxed.  Tliey  would 
answer  Lord  Chesterfield's  taste  to  a  tittle." 

"America  will  doubtless  be  a  great  and  flourishing, 
empire,  but  it  must  undergo  a  great  change  before  it 
becomes  so.     They  must  have  more  virtue,  more  in- 


140  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

dustry,  and  more  confidence  in  one  another  than  afr 
present.  What  looks  most  ominous  for  the  rising 
generation  is  the  extravagant  indulgence  that  is  shown 
to  children.  They  must  have  the  choice  of  their 
masters,  and  may  go  to  school  or  not  as  they  please. 
The  whip  is  reserved  for  negroes.  Yet  the  Roman 
ferula,  of  the  very  shape  in  which  it  is  represented 
in  the  statue  of  the  Schoolmaster  at  Lyons,  is  used  in, 
schools  here,  and  often  is  not  idle." 

Those  who  have  not  been  in  Europe,  who  are  the 
majority,  and  consequently  the  rulers,  have  no.  notion 
of  any  difference  betwixt  a  college  and  a  school  for 
boys  and  girls  of  six  years  of  age.  They  would  have 
their  teachers  be  mere  day-labourers  for  seven  hours 
a  day,  for  summer  and  winter,  and  allow  only  two 
months  a  year  for  vacation.  For  which  reason  the 
lessons  they  receive  are  crude  and  indigested.  Pri- 
vate study  is  impractible,  no  time  being  left  for  it, 
and  the  students  acquire  only  a  confused  and  imper- 
fect idea  of  what  they  think  they  have  learned,  not 
to  mention  that  many  contract  a  decided  aversion  for 
books  and  learning,  in  consequence  of  the  great  con- 
finement and  little  satisfaction  they  experience  at 
their  colleges.'' 

*' Parents  would  have  their  children  become  learn- 
ed, but.  the  way  in  which  they  are  to  attain  it  must- 
be  dictated  by  those  who  know  nothingof  the  matter. 
The  power  of  the  Trustees  is  absolute,  and  without 
appeal.  They  receive  the  tuition  money  paid  by  the 
parents,  and  allow  the  teachers  what  salaries  they 
please:  they  turn  them  off  when  they  think  proper, 
and   they  confer  degrees  phno  jure,   the  teachers 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  141 

serving  only  as  clerks  for  drawing  up  and  signing  the 
diplomas,  the  Trustees  receiving  the  money  that  is 
paid  for  them.  It  is  no  wonder  that  they  should  be 
bestowed  on  subjects  that  disgrace  them.  Nor  is 
the  case  altered  though  some  of  the  Trustees  should 
be  persons  of  virtue  and  learning.  They  will  oblige 
their  friends,  and  take  such  measures  as  may  render 
their  college  agreeble  to  the  people,  and  draw  stu- 
dents from  a  distance.  What  they  consider  as  the 
ultimate  end  of  learning,  is  that  students  may  be  able 
to  speak  readily  in  public;  so  that  the  preparing  and 
delivering  their  speeches,  make  the  greatest  part  of 
their  employment.  ^^ 

"I  know  not  when  or  whether  these  things 
will  be  altered,  as  the  Americans  seem  much  more 
desirous  that  their  affairs  be  managed  by  themselves 
than  that  they  should  be  well  managed.  Many  Aca- 
damies  and  Seminaries  are  erected  or  erecting  in 
diflferent  Slates,  but  from  the  foolishness  of  their  plan 
I  suppose  that  learning  will  be  long  a  stranger  in  this 
country.  Their  taste  seems  to  belike  that  of  the 
Romans,  who  made  every  thing  subservient  to  orato- 
ry. They  are  strongly  attached  to  liberty,  and  can 
make  great  exertions  upan  any  sudden  emergency, 
but  are  quite  inattentive  to  futurity.  The  general 
mania  of  removing  to  the  westward  must  be  hurtful 
to  the  other  parts  of  this  State.  I  imagined  that,  as  I 
was  acceptable  to  all  parties,  I'  might  cure  them  of 
their  wrong  notions  of  education  and  Colleges;  bu-t 
when  I  presented  a  few  hints  to  the  meeting  of  the 
Trustees,  not  the  smallest  attention  was  paid  to  them, 
though  I  know  that  many  of  them  approved  of  them, 


142  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISBET. 

in  their  hearts.  Every  thing  was  ordered  according 
to  the  old  mumpsimus.  Will  your  Lordship  blame 
me  for  leaving  this  country  ?  I  beg  my  sincere  re- 
spects to  Lady  Buchan.      I  am," 

«'My  Lord/' 

"  Your  Lordship's  most  obedient" 
"  Humble  servant," 

"  Charles  Nisbet." 

"  To  the  Right  Honourable,  the 
Earl  of  Buchan,  Edinburgh^ 

An  immediate  return  to  Scotland,  however,  being 
impracticable,  for  want  of  strength  and  spirits,, 
and  of  a  good  opportunity;  and  a  voyage  in  mid-winter 
being  both  uncomfortable  and  unsafe,  it  became  ne- 
cessary to  remain  in  Carlisle  until  the  ensuing  spring. 
But  before  the  close  of  winter,  both  the  Doctor  him- 
self and  all  the  invalids  of  his  family  had  so  far  reco- 
vered; and  with  the  return  of  health,  their  spirits  and 
comfortable  feelings  had  so  far  rallied;  that  they  be- 
gan to  admit  the  idea  of  remaining  with  health  and 
usefulness  in  America.  Under  the  influence  of  these 
altered  feelings,  he  thus  announced  the  change  in  his 
purpose,  to  his  old  friend,  Lord  Buchan. 

«  Carlisle,  20th  ^pril,  1786." 
"  My  Lord,'' 

"  I  informed  your  Lordship,  some  month  ago,  of 
my  resolution  to  leave  this  country,  in  which,  indeed, 
I  have  met  with  many  discouragements  and  disap^ 
pointments;  but  as  it  pleased  God    to  restore  my 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  143 

health  in  December  last,  and  many  people  were  still 
earnest  for  my  staying,  I  intimated  to  the  Trustees 
my  willingness  to  resume  my  former  office,  to  which 
I  hope  to  be  re-elected  in  May  next.  This  country 
is  in  a  torpid  state  with  regard  to  public  spirit,  arts 
and  industry,  and  far  from  being  united  in  politics. 
Indeed,  private  interest  seems  every  where  to  be 
pursued  in  preference  to  the  public  good.  Some 
few  are  wise,  but  the  far  greater  part  otherwise. 
Their  public  debts,  though  easily  payable  by  good 
management,  bear  hard  upon  them.  Industry  and 
manufactures,  even  with  the  thin  population  we  have, 
might  extricate  us  from  our  difficulties;  but  most 
people  here  think  that  what  has  not  been  done  can 
never  be  done.  The  ruinous  practice  of  moving  to 
the  westward  still  continues,  both  in  this  and  sundry 
other  States.  Kentucky  is  daily  growing  at  their 
expense,  though  I  cannot  see  how. a  people  that  live 
a  thousand  miles  from  the  sea  can  find  any  market 
for  their  produce,  or  subsist  by  themselves.  On  ac- 
count of  the  scarcity  of  working  people,  agriculture 
is  in  a  low  state,  and  the  want  of  proper  exports  is 
continually  taking  money  out  of  this  country,  and  run- 
ning our  merchantsin  debt  to  England  more  than  they 
can  pay.  The  easy  and  extensive  credit  granted  by 
English  merchants  prevents  people  here  from  think- 
ing of  manufactures,  but  as  a  corn-trade  is  a  very  bad 
staple,  our  people  cannot  long  make  punctual  remit- 
tances, and  necessity  and  want  of  credit  must  at  Jast 
drive  them  to  do  something  for  themselves.  Some 
small  beginnings  of  manufactures  have  taken  place  in 
the  northern  States,  but  there  is  no  appearance  of 
any  such  thing  here.     A  love  of  letters  and  know- 


144  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISEET. 

ledge  prevails  among  the  youth;  but  the  seminaries 
of  this  country  are  upon  the  worst  footing,  owing  to 
their  being  too  often  under  the  government  of  igno- 
rant Trustees." 

"The  national  frugality  and  industry  of  the  Ger- 
mans render  them  the  most  thriving  inhabitants  of 
this  State,  but  their  ignorance  and  superstition  are 
much  against  them.  A  deference  to  absurd  customs, 
and  an  aversion  to  labour,  prove  a  dead  weight  on  all 
schemes  of  improvement.  Hence  the  lands  produce 
little;  most  of  the  ground  is  in  wood  or  waste;  the 
highways  in  a  state  of  nature;  and  the  inhabitants, 
by  living  so  distant  from  each  other,  are  deprived  of 
the  benefit  of  society,  and  especially  of  that  emula- 
tion which  is  excited  by  neighbourhood.  Indefed, 
societies  for  improvement  of  agriculture  have  been 
formed  at  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore;  but  their  out- 
set is  very  faint,  and  the  people  are  not  disposed  to 
listen  to  them.  The  few  rich  men  lay  out  all  their 
money  on  land,  which  they  keep  up,  in  hopes  of  a 
high  price;  but  personal  credit  does  not  exist,  and 
no  man  chooses  to  trust  another  without  a  mortgage. 
I  hear  of  no  such  thing  as  a  man  of  fortune  residing 
on  his  estate  in  the  country,  and  setting  an  exatrtple 
of  rational  agriculture  to  his  neighbours.  Hence  the 
meanness  of  the  country  houses,  and  the  neglected 
and  squalid  state  of  farms.  In  the  southern  States, 
indeed,  there  are  men  of  fortune,  who  occupy  large 
territories,  but  they  have  no  neighbours,  and  live  on 
the  labours  of  herds  of  slaves,  without  elegance, 
taste,  or  usefulness." 

"  If  any  thing  worthy  your  Lordship's   attention 
should  come  to  my  knowledge,  I  shall   be  ready  to 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  145 

Communicate  it.     I  beg  my  best  respects  to   Lady 
Buchan,  and  remain,  with  esteem/^ 
"My  Lord," 

"  Your  Lordship's  most  obedient" 
**  Humble  servant," 

"Charles  Nisbet." 
''  The  Eight  Hon.  the  Earl  of 
Buchan^  Edinburgh, ^^ 

According!}',  on  the  lOth  of  the  following  May, 
17S6,  he  was  unanimously  re-elected  to  the  office 
which  he  had  relinquished,  and  immediately  re- 
sumed the  perform.ance  of  its  duties.  Happily,  in 
the  good  providence  of  God,  the  climate  of  Carlisle 
never  afterwards  subjected  him  to  a  similar  trial. 
His  health  was  never  again,  for  any  length  of  time, 
seriously  interrupted,  until  the  approach  of  that  fatal 
illness  which,  many  years  afterward,  terminated  his 
life. 

It  was  not,  however,  for  a  number  of  months  after 
he  went  abroad,  and  began  to  resume  the  duties  of 
his  station,  that  he  recovered  his  usual  strength  of 
body,  and  his  wonted  vigour  and  activity  of  mind. 
During  the  continuance  of  this  impaired  mental  pow- 
er, when  his  memory,  which  might  be  considered  as 
one  of  his  master  faculties,  did  not  serve  him  as 
promptly  as  usual,  an  intelligent  gentleman  inform- 
ed the  author  of  this  Memoir,  that  he  heard  Dr. 
Nisbet  preach.  He  remarked  that  his  preaching  was, 
so  far  as  he  could  judge,  as  rich  and  instructive  as 
usual;  but  not  marked  with  so  much  vigour  and 
sprightliness.  But  what  struck  him  as  evincing  a 
slight  failure  of  memory,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
13 


146  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

wonderful  fertility  of  his  mind  was  this.  When  he 
had  gone  through  the  expository  and  didactic  part  of 
his  discourse,  he  distinctly  announced  his  purpose  to 
apply  the  subject,  and  made  a  practical  application, 
in  the  usual  form,  and,  in  the  estimation  of  the  gen- 
tleman, in  a  very  appropriate  and  happy  manner. 
But,  just  as  he  had  completed  it,  his  recollection 
seemed,  for  a  moment  to  fail  him — and  he  said,  a 
second  time — "  Let  us  now  apply  the  subject.'^  Upon 
.which  he  commenced  a  new  application,  drawn  out 
into  a  number  of  particulars — without  repeating  a 
single  idea  that  he  had  already  expressed,  and  yet  all 
equally  appropriate  and  happy  with  that  which  he 
had  before  delivered.  Here  appeared  an  anomaly  of 
memory  of  a  peculiar  kind.  It  failed  him  as  to  the 
fact,  that  he  had  already  applied  his  subject;  but  did 
not  fail  him  with  respect  to  the  topics  on  which  he 
had  just  enlarged,  and  which  he  had  urged  in  ma- 
king that  application.  His  mind  was  so  fertile  and 
full  that  he  evidently  had  the  power,  wiihout  pre- 
vious preparation,  to  illustrate  and  apply  the  same 
subject  in  a  variety  of  different  ways,  without  inter- 
ference or  confusion.  This  failure  of  his  memory, 
however,  lasted  only  for  a  short  time.  The  full  ex- 
ercise of  that  faculty,  so  peculiarly  strong  in  him, 
was  soon  restored,  and  continued  to  serve  him  with 
its  wonted  promptness  and  vigour,  until  the  approach 
of  his  last  illness. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Erskine,  one  of  the  ministers 
of  Edinburgh,  was  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter as  one  of  Dr.  Nisbet's  early  and  affectionate 
friends.  This  excellent  man,  who  seemed  to  take  an 
interest  in  ^^^vy  thing  benevolent  or  useful  in  every 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  147 

part  of  the  world,  by  no  means  ceased  to  care  for  his 
beloved  brother  after  his  removal  to  America.  Hear- 
ing of  his  sickness,  his  discouragement,  and  his  seri- 
ous thoughts  of  abandoning  the  country,  and  return- 
ing to  Scotland,  he  vvTote  to  him  in  the  most  affec- 
tionate manner,  and  at  the  same  time  expressing  with 
candour  his  opinion  of  the  course  which  ought  to  be 
pursued.  Among  the  letters  written  on  this  occa- 
sion, the  following  will  serve  to  manifest  the  spirit 
and  practical  character  of  the  venerable  writer. 

"  Edinburgh,  July  28,  1786." 
''  Dear  Sir,'' 

^^  I  v/rote,  and  sent  you  a  small  parcel  of  books,  for 
your  College,  to  the  care  of  Dr.  Wistar,  of  Philadel- 
phia, now  in  London,  three  days  ago.  The  only  in- 
tention of  this  is  to  give  you  the  satisfaction  of  send- 
ing three  letters,  which  will  show  you  the  deep  affec- 
tion for  you,  and  concern  for  your  interest  felt  by 

Dr. and  Dr.  .     I  beg  that  they  may  be 

burnt,  that  no  person  may  know  of  the  contents  of 
them;  particularly  that  the  writers  may  have  no  hint 
of  my  having  sent  them  to  you.  I  have  equal  proofs 
of  Sir  Henry  Moncrieff's,  and  of  Mr.  Henry  Ers- 
kine's  attention,  though  I  do  not  send  them.  I  am, 
however,  of  opinion  that  all  your  friends  in  Scotland, 
(except,  perhaps.  Lady  Leven)  think  that,  although 
there  is  room  to  doubt  as  to  your  first  success  in  the 
Presidentship  of  Dickinson  College;  there  is  none 
that  your  staying  in  America  will  be  more  for  your 
honour,  your  interest,  and  the  general  interests  of 
religion,  than  your  returning." 

"  Let  me  know  what  branches  you  teach  in  the 


14S  MEMOIR   OF    BR.  NISBET. 

College,  and  what  are  taught  by  others,  whether  Pro- 
fessors or  Tutors;  and  also  what  place  in  London 
parcels  for  you,  or  for  Dickinson  College,  should  be 
left  at." 

"I  am,  my  dear  Sir," 

*^  Yours,  affectionately," 

"  John  Erskine." 
''  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet, 

President  of  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle.'^'* 

From  the  Same. 

"  Edinburgh,  Sept.  2Qth,  1  786." 
*•'  Dear  Sir,'' 

"Nothing  important  has  occurred  since  my  last 
letter  of  July  2Sth.  I  send  this  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  inclosing  one  to  you  from  Lord  Buchan." 

"  Holland  seems  on  the  eve  of  a  civil  war,  in  which 
some  of  our  shallow,  short-sighted  politicians  are  re- 
joicing, on  account  of  the  temporary  advantage  to  our 
commerce;  not  considering  the  increase  of  the  power 
of  France  which  must  be  produced  by  their  ruin,  and 
probably  soon  involve  Britain  in  the  same  fate.  But 
the  popular  voice  will  be— let  the  ungrateful  Dutch 
fight  their  own  battles — and  the  ministry  will  listen 
to  it." 

"As  you  are  in  a  strange  country,  remember  that 
you  have  two  cars  and  but  one  tongue;  and  therefore, 
without  necessity,  and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
prudence  as  well  as  honesty  of  your  correspondents, 
write  nothing  which  you  would  be  uneasy  if  it  was 
published." 

"  I  wish  you  would  fix  on  places  at  London,  Phi- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  149 

ladelphia,  and  New  York,  for  sending  parcels  to  your 
self  or  your  College.^' 

*^I  am,  dear  Sir," 

"  Yours,  affectionately," 

"  John  Erskine.'* 
"  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet, 

President  of  Dickinson  College y  Carlisle.^ ^ 

Dr.  Nisbet's  faithful  and  enlightened  friend,  the 
Countess  of  Leven  and  Melville,  whose  anxious  mind 
followed  her  venerable  correspondent  to  America, 
about  this  time,  having  received  from  himself  an  ac- 
count of  his  safe  arrival,  addressed  to  him  the  fol- 
lowing letter.. 

"  Melville  House,  August  8,  1785." 
'^  Dear  Sir,'' 

"I  am  much  indebted  to  you  for  writing  me  so 
soon  after  your  arrival,  and  acquainting  me  with  your 
safe  landing  on  the  American  shore.  You  give  me 
a  very  distinct  account  of  your  voyage.  Your  son's 
dangerous  illness  would,  of  course,  divert  your  fears 
for  one  week:  though  I  dare  say  you  had  many 
awful  alarms,  and  your  poor  wife  would  be  in  great 
distress.  I  do  not  know  how  it  has  been  with  you 
as  to  the  article  of  heat;  but  we  have  seen  no  such 
warm  summer  for  twenty  or  thirty  years.  Tliere 
was  also  a  great  deal  of  thunder  and  lightning  on 
Tuesday  the  26th  of  last  month,  which  seems,  ta 
have  been  universal;  at  least,  we  have  heard  of  its 
effects,  east  and  west,  south  and  north." 

<'  I  rejoice  that  you  found  the  worthy  Dr.  Rush  in 
comfortable  circumstances.     I  shall  never  be  indif- 
13* 


150  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

ferent  concerning  him.  He  gained  my  good  opinion 
in  his  early  days,  and  lias  done  much  since  to  con- 
firm it.  I  never  think  of  him  but  with  affection. 
My  not  writing  to  him  is  not  a  mark  of  my  want  of 
esteem;  but  that  the  subject  which  first  presents  itself 
to  my  mind,  when  I  attempt  to  write  to  him,  (which 
1  have  done  often)  is  too  tender.  He  has  a  feeling 
heart.  I  wish  you  had  told  me  whether  the  box 
directed  to  him,  which  followed  you  to  Glasgow,  by 
Mr.  Lake,  arrived  in  safety.  When  you  write,  let 
me  know  about  his  family,  &c.  and  also  about  your 
fellow  voyager,  Mr.  Thompson;  and  whether  he  has 
got  any  thing  in  a  settled  way.  Poor  Mr.  Peterkin 
has  waited  for  some  time  for  a  ship;  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  Mr.  G.  is  dead,  who  was  chaplain  of  Sterling 
Castle,  and  Mr.  P.  has  applied  for  that  small  living. 
If  he  succeeds,  it  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  leav- 
ing his  poor  family;  who  will  be  in  a  very  poor 
way  If  he  is  obliged  to  leave  them.'' 

•'  Your  Glasgow  correspondents  will  write  you 
all  about  a  Jew  who  has  been  preaching  there  and  in 
Edinburgh.  I  would  gladly  hope  it  is  the  beginning 
of  a  more  plentiful  harvest.  He  has  published  a 
short  account  of  his  conversion,  which  Mr.  Peterkin 
will  carry,  if  he  goes.  1  intend  to  send  this  letter 
by  him,  which  causes  me  to  write  in  a  hurry,  as  his 
motions  are  uncertain.  It  will  soon  be  known  if 
there  is  any  hope  of  his  success." 

''  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  Lord 
Balgonie  has  a  son.  The  mother  is  well,  and  mak- 
ing a  fine  nurse.  We  expect  them  (God  willing)  in 
about  a  fortnight.  This  is  a  very  comfortable  event. 
I  hope  you  will  not  forget  your  friends  in  your  pray- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  151 

ers,  now  that  you  are  in  a  far  country.  No  distance 
of  place  can  remove  us  from  Him  who  is  the  confi- 
dence of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  is  not  far  from 
every  one  of  us.  0  that  I  felt  this  truth  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  have  its  due  influence  upon  all  my 
thoughts,  and  words,  and  actions!'' 

"  I  have  little  new  to  write,  for  either  instruction 
or  comfort.  What  takes  up  the  attention,  and  is  the 
foundation  of  much  speculation  at  present,  is  calcu- 
lated for  neither  of  these  ends,  viz:  that  Mr.  M.,  of 
B.  at  the  age  of  above  sixty ^  has  gone  off  with  a  lady 
between  thirty  and  forty,  and  left  his  worthy  wife  to 
mourn  for  his  absence  and  his  sins.  She  is  a  very 
pious  good  woman,  and  at  present  will  find  abundant 
use  for  the  exercise  of  all  Christian  graces.  She  will 
have  the  prayers  of  many  good  people  in  her  singu- 
larly trying  situation.  He  has  5610,000  sterling  a 
year,  and  left  a  letter  for  the  minister  of  the  parish, 
requesting  him  to  take  care  and  comfort  Lady  Catha- 
rine." 

"  For  Church  new.«?,  1  leave  it  to  all  yoiir  brethren 
to  communicate;  and  for  State  news,  I  do  not  allow 
myself  to  interfere  with  it.  I  shall  be  glad  to  find 
that  Presbyterians  with  you  stand  their  ground,  f 
suppose,  after  you  are  settled,  you  will  find  time  to 
write  to  old  friends,  and  will  sometimes  find  private 
hands  coming  in  case  you  have  any  pamphlet  or 
parcel.  I  think  much  of  your  writing  to  me  so 
soon.  JNIy  Lord  joins,  with  all  the  family,  in  best 
respects  to  you.  If  Mr.  Peterkin  should  go  out,  I 
hope  you  will  show  him  some  favour.  I  am  per- 
suaded that  he  is  a  very  serious  good  man.  This  is 
all  I  can  give  you  at  present.     We  are  all  much  as 


152  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

you   left  us,  which  is  a  singular  mercy.     My  best 
respects  to  Mrs.  Nisbet.     She  has  not  yet  forgotten 
Montrose.     Believe  me,  with  much  esteem,'^ 
"  Your  humble  servant,'^ 

"W.  Leven." 
"  The  Rev.  Br.  Charles  Nisbet.'' 

The  following  letter,  also  from  the  same  excellent 
lady,  will  show  how  strong  the  attachment  of  the 
Church  at  Montrose  was  to  the  venerable  Pastor  of 
whom  they  had  been  recently  deprived,  and  with 
what  cordiality  they  would  have  received  him  back, 
had  he  been  willing  to  return.  It  appears  from  the 
statement  of  Lady  Leven,  that  Dr.  Nisbet's  sickness 
soon  after  his  arrival;  his  discouragement;  his  inten- 
tion of  leaving  Carlisle,  and  returning  to  his  native 
country — were  all,  to  some  extent,  known  in  Scot- 
land; and  that  his  friends,  in  the  spring  of  1786, 
were  every  day  looking  for  his  return  with  the  deep- 
est interest,  and  were  greatly  disappointed  at  his  de- 
termining t'o  remain  in  America, 

"  Melville  House,  Jiiig.  2.5th,  1786." 
'' Dear  Sir,'' 

"  Just  when  I  was  meditating  a  letter  to  you,  yours 
of  June  24th,  came  to  hand.  Had  1  been  in  good 
health,  I  should  not  have  been  so  long  in  acknow- 
ledging your  letter  ivithoiit  date,  which  I  received 
about  three  or  four  weeks  ago.  It  filled  me  with 
much  surprise,  considering  its  immediate  predeces- 
sor, and  that  we  had  long  looked  for  you,  and  daily 
expected  your  arrival  on  the  Scotch  coast.  I  had. 
heard  surniises,  but  none  of  them  appeared  such  as 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  153 

could  be  depended  on,  till  I  had  it  from  your  own 
hand.  Most  wishfully  your  friends  were  expecting 
you,  and  tlie  people  at  Montrose  kept  the  Church 
vacant  till  your  not  coming  was  almost  certain.  But 
perhaps  you  did  not  know  of  this.  I  trust  that  you 
have  been  directed  to  what  is  best,  and  most  for  pro- 
moting that  interest  which  you  wish  to  spread.  I 
am  sorry  to  find  that  your  health  has  been  again  af- 
fected in  the  hot  weather,  and  that  your  family  are 
suffering  by  it.  I  shall  be  glad  to  learn  that  you  are 
all  better,  and  other  particulars  concerning  them." 

"I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  writing  me  so  par- 
ticularly concerning  the  state  of  religion.  I  fear 
you  are  prejudiced,  and,  therefore,  do  not  do  all  the 
justice  to  the  Methodists  that  many  deserve  who  go 
under  that  designation.  You  know  they  were  al- 
ways in  two  parties.  Those  bearing  the  name  of 
Mr.  Whitefield  are  orthodox,  as  I  suppose,  in  all 
points.  And,  although  some  of  Mr.  Wesley's  are 
not  so;  yet  I  am  persuaded  they  have  done  a  great 
deal  of  good  in  reforming  the  lives  and  manners  of 
thousands;  and  that  Mr.  Wesley  has  been  counte- 
nanced in  his  indefatigable  labours  by  his  Divine 
Master.  To  Him,  according  to  his  views,  he  has 
been  a  faithful  servant  for  70  years.  He  is  now 
near  90,  still  active  and  vigorous,  and  anxiously  con- 
cerned, I  truly  believe,  to  do  the  will  of  his  heavenly 
Father." 

"•  I  should  be  glad  to  learn  more  particulars  con- 
cerning the  ^  Shakers j^  being  entirely  ignorant  of 
their  history  or  tenets.  I  will  be  much  obliged  to 
you  for  writing  frequently.  I  am  sure  you  will 
hear   much   good   of  Mr.  Whitefield,  and   still   find 


154  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

some  of  his  disciples  making  a  good  figure.  It  is 
always  a  pleasure  to  me  to  hear  any  thing  to  his 
praise.  You  will  have  heard,  perhaps,  before  this 
reaches  you,  of  the  great  loss  which  the  Church  and 
people  of  God  have  met  with  in  the  death  of  the 
precious  Lady  Glenorchy.  I  fear  we  shall  never 
see  her  like  again.  But  the  subject  is  too  copious. 
I  must  only  give  you  the  text,  which  you  can  en- 
large upon  better  than  I.  She  left  only  the  scrawl 
of  an  unsigned  will,  in  which  she  devised  £5000  to 
fhe  Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge  in 
Scotland;  and  a  like  sum  for  pious  uses  in  England, 
It  is  not  ascertained  whether  or  not  Lady  Souther- 
land  and  her  husband  will  fulfil  her  intentions;  but  I 
should  suppose  their  doing  so  cannot  be  doubted. 
There  is  a  good  deal  more  devised  for  pious  uses." 

"As  I  suppose  you  get  Scotch  newspapers  which 
go  to  Philadelphia,  I  need  not  write  concerning  cur- 
rent news.  Many  strange  things  daily  fall  out. 
We  hear  of  much  evil,  and  little  good.  May  a  hap- 
py reverse  soon  take  place!  Shall  we  ever  see  the 
unhappy  division  between  America  and  her  mother 
made  up  again?  Shall  we  see  that  breach  which 
was  and  is  the  cause  of  so  many  evils,  repaired?  I 
am  persuaded  that  both  parties  would  be  happier 
and  more  affectionate  than  ever.  Alas!  pride,  that 
easily  besetting  sin,  stands  in  the  breach,  ever  indus- 
trious to  widen  it.     0  that  men  were  wise!" 

"  Let  me  know  if  it  be  true  that  Dr.  Witherspoon 
has  given  up  the  Presidentship  of  Princeton  College. 
I  am  glad  to  find  that  Mr.  Thompson  is  alive  and 
well.  We  had  heard  that  he  was  dead.  As  I  have 
an  opportunity  of  sending  this  free  and  safely,  I  has- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  155 

ten  to  conclude.  I  hope  our  worthy  friend,  Dr.  Rush, 
and  family,  continue  well  and  happy.  I  had  a  kind 
letter  from  him  lately,  which  gave  me  very  great 
pleasure.  Had  I  been  well,  I  should  have  written 
an  answer  before  now,  and  have  sometimes  been  on 
the  point  of  doing  it,  but  have  been  prevented.  My 
best  respects  and  wishes  ever  attend  him  and  all  his 
concerns." 

''  All  this  family  desire  to  be  kindly  remembered 
to  you  and  the  worthy  Dr.  Rush.  I  am  ever,  with 
esteem,  dear  sir," 

"  Your  humble  servant," 

"W.  Leven." 
"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet, 

Care  of  Dr.  Rush,  Philadelphia.^^ 

Dr,  Nisbet,  aS  soon  as  his  health  was  established, 
not  only  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  office;  but  per- 
sued  them  to  an  extent,  and  with  an  alacrity  and  vi- 
gour which  none  butaman  of  his  extraordinary  resour- 
ces, and  great  energy  could  have  safely  undertaken. 
He  immediately  began  the  preparation  and  delivery 
o^  four  co-ordinate  courses  of  Lectures — One  on 
Logic;  another  on  the  Philosophy  of  the  Mind;  a 
third  on  Moral  Philosophy;  and  a  fourth,  on  Belles 
Lettres,  including  interesting  views,  historical  and 
literary,  of  the  principal  classical  writers,  both  Greek 
and  Latin.  These  were  all  carried  on  at  the  same 
time,  and  with  the  greatest  apparent  ease;  the  lecture 
of  each  successive  day  being,  for  the  most  part,  writ- 
ten, so  far  as  it  was  committed  to  writing  at  all,  on 
the  preceding  evening.  But  it  was  not  necessary 
for  him  to  write  more  than  the  leading  outlines  of  a 


156  MEMOIR    0$"    BR.    NISBEf. 

Lecture  on  almost  any  subject.  His  mind  was  so  full 
of  digested  and  arranged  matter,  that  a  little  premedi- 
tation, and  committing  to  paper  a  few  facts,  dates  and 
hints,  were  all  that  he  required  for  an  ample  prepa- 
ration to  meet  and  gratify  his  class. 

But  besides  the  four  courses  of  Lectures  already 
mentioned,  this  learned  man  delivered  a  fifth  on 
Systematic  Theology y  which  deserves  particular  no- 
tice, as  it  was,  probably,  the  w&ry  first  cou  rse  of  Lec- 
tures on  that  subject  ever  prepared  and  delivered  in 
"the  United  States. 

A  small  band  of  pious  students,  who  graduated  in 
the  College  in  1788,  conceived  so  high  an  opinion  of 
this  venerable  man  as  an  instructor,  in  every  depart- 
ment of  knowledge  through  which  he  had  conducted 
them,  that  they  requested  him,  after  the  completion  of 
their  collegiate  course,  to  give  them  some  instruction 
and  aid  in  pursuing  their  theological  studies.  With 
this  request  he  promptly  consented  to  comply;  and  at 
once  formed  the  plan  of  preparing  and  delivering  a 
regular  course  of  Theological  Lectures.  To  a  mind 
so  highly  furnished  and  active  as  his,  the  distance 
between  plan  and  execution  was  very  small.  He  im- 
mediately addressed  himself  to  the  preparation  of  the 
proposed  couise,  and  after  the  short  vacation,  which 
commenced  with  the  last  week  of  September,  he  en- 
tered on  the  public  delivery  of  it.  W\s  first  Theo- 
logical Lecture  was  delivered  October  31,  1788,  and 
the  last  January  5,  1791;  thus  extending  to  a  little 
more  than  two  years  and  two  months.  The  whole 
number  of  Lectures  comprised  in  the  course,  was 
four  hundred  and  eighteen.  His  habit  was,  during 
term  time,  to  deliver  a  Lecture  every  day  in  the 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  157 

"Week,  excepting  Saturday  and  the  Lord's  day.  These 
lectures  were  fuHy  written  out,  and  slowly  read; 
and  each  hearer  was  required  to  take  down  the  whole 
from  the  lips  of  the  Lecturer.  So  that  every  stu- 
-dent  was  expected  to  possess  a  complete  copy  of  the 
whole  course. 

The  theological  class  to  which  these  Lectures  were 
delivered  consisted  of  about  eiii;ht  or  nine.  Of  these, 
one  or  two  had  not  the  patience  or  perseverance  to 
follow  the  venerable  Lecturer  through  the  whole 
course,  but  left  him  before  it  was  finished.  Then,  as 
well  as  now,  young  men  were  found  unwise  enough 
to  prefer  iheir  ease  or  convenience  to  their  solid  im- 
•provement,  and  upon  various  pretexts  to  deprive 
themselves  of  precious  opportunities  of  instruction. 

Dr.  Nisbet  never  affected  novelties  in  theology. 
He  was  not  ambitious,  in  hi^  theological  instruction, 
to  appear  as  an  inventor  of  new  opinions;  or  even  of 
new  exhibitions  of  truth.  He,  therefore,  apprised 
his  pupils  that,  in  these  lectures,  he  did  not  claim  to 
-be  entirely  original;  that  he  drew  freely  from  appro- 
ved authors;  and  specified  Tarreline^  Witsius,  Ri- 
vet,  Le  Blanc,  and  others,  as  those  which  he  most 
largely  employed  as  auxiliaries  and  guides.  And, 
accordingly,  it  has  been  stated,  by  one,  if  not  more,  of 
this  class  of  students,  that  when  a  suggestion  was 
made  to  him,  that  it  might  be  desirable  to  commit 
these  lectures  to  the  press,  he  repelled  the  proposal 
with  evident  marks  of  disapprobation;  because  he 
would  by  no  means  palm  them  upon  the  public  as  an 
entirely  original  work. 

When  the  Doctor  had  closed  ^is  course   of  lec- 
tures on  Theology,  the  members  of   the  class  felt 
themselves  so  much  gratified  and  interested  by  them, 
14 


158  MEMOIR   OF  BR.  NISBET. 

that  they  requested  him  to  give  them  some  instruc- 
tion on  the  Pastoral  Office.  With  this  request  he 
also  readily  complied,  and  delivered  on  this  subject 
twenty-two  lectures,  which  were  deemed  excellent, 
and  which  were  taken  down  from  his  lips  by  the 
students  in  the  same  manner  as  before. 

In  addition  to  all  his  labours  as  the  President  of 
the  College,  and  lecturer  on  so  many  different  branch- 
es of  knowledge,  he  regularly  preached  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church  in  Carlisle,  alternately  with  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Davidson,  Vice  President  of  the   College,  and 
Pastor   of  the  church.       In  this   part  of  his   public 
duties,  as   well  as  others,   he   was  highly  acceptable 
and   popular.     Without   what  are  commonly  called 
the  graces  of  delivery,  and  though  always  preaching 
without  written  preparation,  his  discourses  never  fail- 
ed to  be  in  a  high  degree  instructive  and  interesting. 
Dickinson   College,   under  the   supervision  of  her 
learned  and   accomplished   head,  soon  began   to  rise 
in   reputation  and   in   the  number   of  her    students. 
The    first   Commencement   in   that   Institution   was 
held  on  the  2t)th  day  of  September,  17S7;  when  nine 
young   gentlemen   received  from  his  hands  the  first 
degree  in  the  arts. 

But  notwithstanding  these  favourable  circumstan- 
ces, it  cannot  be  denied,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  ade- 
quate reason  for  concealing,  that  Dr.  Nisbet,  in  com- 
ing to  America,  was  not  a  little  disappointed.  It 
could  scarcely,  indeed,  have  been  otherwise.  The 
truth  is,  the  first  five  or  six  years  after  he  arrived  in 
the  United  States  formed  one  of  the  most  unfortunate 
periods  in  which*a  stranger  could  have  transferred 
his  residence  from  Great  Britain  to  this  country.     A 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  159 

protracted  and  exhausting  war  had  just  closed.  The 
currency  and  commerce  of  the  nation  were  in  a  state 
of  deplorable  depreciation.  In  fact,  the  States,  in  their 
united  as  well  as  individual  capacity,  might  be  said 
to  be  bankrupt.  Public  and  private  credit  had  sunk 
to  a  very  low  ebb.  The  value  of  real  estate  was  de- 
pressed to  a  most  discouraging  degree.  Enterprise 
had  no  reward.  There  was  no  harmony  of  action 
among  the  States.  The  government  of  the  Union, 
so  far  as  it  deserved  the  name,  was  in  a  great  mea- 
sure inert,  for  want  of  adequate  powers.  Indeed 
from  the  year  1784  to  I7S9,  when  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  went  into  operation,  so  many 
were  the  difficulties  of  our  confederated  republics, 
and  so  gloomy  their  prospects,  that  many  of  the  zeal- 
ous advocates  of  Liberty  and  Independence  began  to 
be  less  sanguine  in  their  hopes  from  the  American 
revolution;  and  to  doubt  whether  we  were  yet  pre- 
pared to  take  that  stand  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth  which  the  God  of  battles  had  assigned  to  us. 
Such  was  the  state  of  the  country  at  large. 

The  state  of  Dickinson  College  partook  of  the  na- 
tional embarrassment.  An  infant  Institution,  and, 
from  the  first  but  slenderly  endowed,  it  was  beset  with 
most  formidable  difficulties.  Neither  its  funds  nor 
its  students  had  increased  as  rapidly  as  its  sanguine 
founders  and  friends  had  expected.  Money  was  too 
scarce  to  allow  many  parents  who  desired  it,  to  give 
their  children  a  liberal  education.  The  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  was  not  then  sufficient- 
ly alive  to  the  interests  of  literature  to  make  any 
considerable  grants  to  seminaries  of  learning.  And, 
to  crown  all,  the  Board   of  Trustees  of  the  College 


IGO  MEMOm    OF    DR.   NISBET^ 

was  a  body  so  large,  and  consisted  of  gentlemen  sor- 
little  homogeneous  in  their  principles  and  character, 
that  united  and  energetic  action  for  any  length  of 
time  together  was  not  to  be  expected,  and  certainly 
was  not  realised.  They  honoured  the  accomplish- 
ments, and  were  proud  of  the  reputation  of  their  new 
President;  but  they  found  it  difificult  to  sustain  him  in 
that  ample  and  honourable  manner  which  he  had  been 
led  to  expect. 
.  But  besides  all  the  difficulties  of  his  official  station, 
the  social  atid  literary  state  of  the  country,  and  the 
general  state  of  public  improvement,  were  such  as 
was  ill  adapted  to  answer  the  expectations,  and  grati- 
fy the  feelings  of  one  who  had  been  in  Scotland  al- 
most the  idol  of  a  large  circle  of  friends;  who,  when- 
ever he  went  to  Edinburgh,  is  said  to  have  had  at 
least  one  hundred  intelligent  and  literary  acquaint- 
ances, gentlemen  of  wealth  and  leisure,  some  of  them 
among  the  first  noblemen  of  the  country,  who  re- 
joiced to  see  him,  and  in  whose  sociely  and  conver- 
sation he  enjoyed  the  most  refined  satisfaction.  In 
intercourse  with  such  circles,  and  with  easy  access 
to  large  Libraries,  in  which  he  took  so  much  delight, 
he  found  himself  in  circumstances,  in  many  respects^ 
eminently  congenial  to  his  taste. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  long  before  the  subject  of 
this  memoir  came  to  America,  he  had  imbibed  feel- 
ings of  strong  partiality  to  our  country.  He  sympa- 
thized with  us  in  our  revolutionary  struggle,  and' 
wished  well  to  us  in  all  our  interests,  before  he  was 
induced  j>ersonally  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  us.  He- 
came  to  the  country,  therefore,  with  partial  feelings. 
And  though  he  was  aware  that  a  body  of  youthful 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  rNlTED  STATES.  161 

colonies,  recently  become  independent,  could  not  be 
expected  to  present  all  the  stability  of  order,  and  all 
the  maturity  of  improvement,  to   be  looked  for  in 
older  states;  yet  he  imagined  that  in  a  population  in 
which  there  had  been  displayed  so  much  intelligence 
as  to  understand,  and  so  much  high-minded  patriot- 
ism as  to  contend  for,  the  rights  and   privileges  of 
freemen,  he  should  find   more  of  the  simplicity  and 
sturdiness  of  virtue  than   in  his  native  land.     The 
very  circumstance  of  those  who  called  him  manifest- 
ing, in   all  their  communications,  an   ardent  zeal  for 
the  promotion  of  literature;  and  an  earnest  desire  to 
attract  from   the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  great  and 
good  men   to  ''  go  in  and  out  before  them,"  for  the 
purpose  of  lifting  up  the  literary  character  of  our 
country,  was  well  adapted  to  beget  a  confidence  that 
such   men,  when   obtained,  would  be  cordially  wel- 
comed, and  honourably  supported.   No  wonder,  then, 
that  some  degree  of  painful  disappointment  ensued, 
when  he  found  on  his  arrival  in  this  country,  that 
the  general   standard   of  literature   was  low;    that  a 
thorough  classical  and  scientific  course  would  be  sub- 
mitted to  by   very  few  of  the  youth  who   aspired  to 
Collegiate  honours;   that  the   very  small  number  of 
professional  and   other  gentlemen   who  laid  claim  to 
literary  character,  were  generally  so  busy  as  to  ren- 
der  much    social   intercourse  wholly  impracticable; 
and  that,  of  course,  with   his  habits  and  estimates  of 
things,  there  was  little  prospect    of  his  being  able 
very  essentially  to  benefit  the  counti-y,  or  to  become, 
speedily,  if  at  all,  instrumental  in  elevating  the  cha- 
racter of  its  literature.     And   when,  above    all,    he 
found  the  state  of  religion  so  low  and  languishing  as 
14* 


162  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

it  undoubtedly  was,  for  a  number  of  years  after  the- 
revolutionary  war,  it  can  hardly  be  imagined  that  a 
mind  so  enligiitened,  so  sensitive,  so  enlarged,  and  so 
intent  on  the  literary  and  religious  improvement  of 
a^Il  around  him,  as  his.  could  be  otherwise  than  dis- 
posed to  gloom. 

Besides  these  cornsideratlons,  so  well  adapted  to 
make  an  unfavourable  impression  on  his  mind,  there 
were  other  considerationvS,  more  immediately  per- 
sonal, which  could  not  fail  to  concur  in  diminishing 
his  cornfoi-t.  His  salary,  though  by  no  means  large, 
was  imj)erfectly  paid.  The  provision  made  for  ac- 
commodating his  family  with  a  dwelling,  was,  from 
the  beginning,  far  from  comfortable;  and  the  retired 
place  of  his  residence,  though,  in  many  respect.^, 
exceedingly  pleasant,  presented  very  few  social  cir- 
cles adapted  to  gratify  a  man  so  pre-eminently  devo- 
ted to  books,  and  so  well  fitted  to  instruct  and  enter- 
tain those  in  the  highest  stations. 

As  these  things  cauld  not  fail  painfully  to  impress 
his  mind,  so  it  was  natural  that  he  should,  from  time 
to  time,  make  some  reference  to  them  in  correspon- 
ding with  his  fi'iends  in  Scotland,  many  of  whom 
took  a  deep  interest  in  liis  comfort,  and  followed  him 
with  anxious  inquiries  as  to  his  situation  and  pros- 
pects. Accordingly  it  is  easy  to  see,  from  the  lan- 
guage of  several  of  his  correspondents  in  Britain, 
that  his  situation  was  far  from  being  one  of  unmixed 
comfort;  and  that  as  late  as  the  year  1794  or  1795, 
the  idea  of  his  return  to  Scotland,  ihough  laid  aside 
by  himself,  was  not  wholly  abandoned  by  his^frieudj- 
m  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  163 

The  following  letters  will  serve  to   throw  some 
light  on  the  subject  of  the  foregoing  remarks. 

Dr.  Nisbet  to  the  Earl  of  Buchan. 

"  Baltimore,  2Alh  June,  1786.^^ 
'^  My  Lord;' 

"  Being  detained  here  by  a  fit  of  the  ague,  and  un- 
derstanding that  there  are  several  English  ships  in 
this  port,  I  take  the  opportunity  of  testifying  my  sin- 
cere respect  to  your  Lordship,  though  I  have  very 
little  intelligence  to  communicate.  Knowledge  \s 
very  rare  in  this  country,  and  has  been  the  least  of 
our  importations.  The  love  of  money  checks  its 
progress,  and  the  desire  of  it  among  the  generality,  is 
not  great.  It  is  true  that  Colleges.  Academies  and 
Schools  are  founding  in  many  places;  but  there  is  a 
penury  of  m.en,  books  and  rational  regulations.  Po- 
litical knowledge,  however  necessary  in  this  country, 
is  very  imperfect,  on  account  of  the  undue  and  false 
notions  of  liberty  that  generally  prevail.  Public 
spirit  is  rare;  and  even  where  it  exii^ts,  it  is  checked 
by  the  dreadful  reflection,  that  it  can  be  of  no  use 
unless  it  can  be  infused  into  a  majority.  And  where 
is  the  community  so  enlightened  that  a  majority  of 
it  are  wise  men?  A  king,  surrounded  with  guards, 
ministers  and  courtiers,  is  not  more  inaccessible  than 
the  minds  of  a  multitude  beset  with  prejudices  and 
ignorance.  Natural  knowledge,  however  suitable 
and  necessary  in  this  country,  where  it  has  so  large 
a  field,  does  not  flourish  among  us.  No  species  of 
science  is  so  much  honoured  as  Mathematics,  which, 
however  excellent  as  an  adminicle,  is  barren  in  itself. 
The  king  of  Franee  has  purchased  a  Botanic  Garden: 


164  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

in  Jersey,  which  may,  perhaps,  excite  some  curi- 
osity for  Natural  History.  Mines  have  been  said  to 
be  discovered  in  several  places,  but  I  cannot  ascer- 
tain the  fact;  and  even  if  the  report  were  true,  the 
possessors  of  those  mines  would  do  well  to  keep  them 
a  secret.  I  believe  the  ancient  adage  still  holds — Si 
giia/oret  icllus  qux  fulvum  milter et  aurum,  hos- 
iis  erat.  I  have  discovered  a  strange  coincidence 
between  a  part  of  the  superstition  of  the  Indians,  and 
that  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Europe.  Where- 
ever  the  Indians  discover  bees,  they  take  for  grant- 
ed that  white  men  will  soon  come  after  them.  In 
the  seventh  book  of  the  iEneid,  when  a  swarm  of 
bees  had  hived  near  the  palace  of  king  Latinus,  the 
same  construction  was  put  on  the  phenomenon.  Con- 
tinuo  vates;  externos  cerjiimus,  inqiiit,  adveniare 
viros.  This  is  strange  enough.  Virgil  never  visit- 
ed America;  nor  did  the  Indians  ever  read  Virgil.  I 
have  been  assured  that  in  the  western  parts  of  this 
country,  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  there  are 
monuments  discovered  which  render  it  almost  cer- 
tain that  that  region  has  been  inhabited  by  a  people 
much  more  civilized  than  its  present-inhabitants.  A 
gentleman  who  is  proprietor  of  a  mine,  assured  me 
that  they  had  discovered  digging  tools  many  fathoms 
under  ground.  I  was  informed  by  another,  that,  in 
sinking  a  well,  he  found  a  small  furnace  of  brick 
work  thirty  feet  below  the  surface,  with  coals  and 
brands  that  had  been  ignited.  Near  the  falls  of  the 
Ohio  there  is  a  salt  spring  in  the  bed  of  the  river, 
which  had  been  inclosed  with  stone  work  of  un- 
known antiquity,  to  keep  out  the  fresh  water;  but 
this  inclosure  being  ruined  by  the  freshets,  the  inha- 


RESIDENCE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  165 

b-Itants  have  no  use  of  the  spring  except  when  the 
river  falls  so  low  as  to  leave  its  environs  dry.  In 
many  places  circular  fortifications  have  been  disco- 
vered, inclosed  with  deep  ditches,  and  fenced  with 
a  breast  work.  Yet  no  traces  of  ancient  habitations 
are  to  be  seen.  Perhaps  the  inhabitants  have  been 
contented  with  wooden  houses,  like  Attila,  though  m 
possession  of  a  great  part  of  the  Roman  empire.  Pit 
coal  is  found  in  abundance  in  the  western  counties  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  at  Wyoming  on  the  Susquehanna; 
but  the  great  abundance  of  wood  renders  it  of  little 
use  as  >'et.  The  u-ant  of  industry  is  one  great  cause 
of  the  little  progress  of  the  useful  arts  in  this  coun- 
try; but  the  climate  is  enough  to  damj)  the  most  ac- 
tive minds.  Many  people  here  observe  the  siesta 
as  regularly  as  the  Spaniards  and  Italians;  finding 
their  animal  spirits,  if  such  there  are,  very  apt  to  be 
evaporated  by  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun:  yet  we 
hear  of  none  dying  here  by  a  coup  de  soleily  though 
that  accident  is  common  in  France  and  Italy. '* 

"The  humour  of  making  new  States  seems  unpro- 
pitious  to  this  country.  Kentucky  is  admitted  into 
the  Union  on  condition  of  their  putting  themselves 
in  the  order  of  a  Slate  before  a  given  day,  and  taking 
a  proportional  share  of  the  public  debt  of  Virginia, 
Vermont  is  tacitly  permitted  to  govern  itself,  but  not 
represented  in  Congress,  or  admitted  into  the  confe- 
deration. The  state  of  Massachusetts  threatens  di- 
vision, though  it  has  not  yet  taken  place.  The  dif- 
ferences at  Wyoming  still  subsist,  though  not  pub-' 
licly  supported  by  the  Slate  of  Connecticut.  Ethan 
Allen  is  actually  amongst  them,  and  undertakes  to 
command  their  forces  against  all  opposition;  and  a 


166  MEMOIR    or    DR.  NISBET. 

number  of  ill-disposed  and  profligate  people  are  as- 
sembling from  all  the  slates,  which  may  occasion  a 
civil  war  for  a  time." 

*•  I  hear  that  grants  of  American  lands  are  becom- 
ing merchantable  commodities  on  the  Exchange  of 
London:  and  I  am  just  now  informed  that  an  eminent 
American  land-jobber  is  actually  at  Hamburgh,  and 
finds  purchasers  in  that  city.  If  this  is  true  it  will 
interest  foreigners  in  the  prosperit}^  of  this  country, 
and  may  be  a  means  of  encouraging  industry,  and 
introducing  useful  hands,  and  useful  arts  among  us, 
of  which  we  are  still  in  great  want." 

"  I  beg  m}'  best  respects  to  Lady  Buchan,  and  am 
with  the  most  unfeigned  esteem," 
'^  My  Lord," 

*' Your  Lordship's  much  obliged," 
"Humble  servant," 

"  Charles  Nisbet." 
"  The  Eight  Honourable  the 

Earl  of  Biichdii,  Edinbiirgh.^^ 

The  next  letter  is  from  Dr.  Nisbet,  to  the  Rev. 
James  Paton,  the  pious  and  excellent  pastor  of 
Craig,  a  town  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Montrose, 
with  whom  the  Doctor  maintained  a  long  and  en- 
deared friendship. 

"  Carlisle,  lOth  Jan.  1787." 
"  Dear  Sir,'' 

"Yours,  of  the  9th  of  August,  reached  Philadel- 
phia on  the  22d  of  November,  but  did  not  reach  me 
for  three  weeks  afterwards,  as  we  have  no  post  3'et 
established  on  this  road,  and  communication  is  diffi- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  167 

cult  this  hard  winter.     I  had   got  a  detail  of  all  the 
transactions  of  your  neighbourhood  by  Dr.  Erskine, 
and  some  others.     1  had  no  design  of  writing  you  in 
a  dark  manner;  but  many  things  here  cannot  be  re- 
lated   in  a  few  words.      I  am   sorry  for   the   deaths 
you  acquaint  me  with,  especially  for  those  of  wor- 
thy ministers,  who  have  been  at  all  times  scarce.     I 
am  glad   to  hear  of  the  welfare   of  your  family,  and 
wish    I   could    give   you   any    idea  of  this  country. 
Knowledge,  industry,  virtue  and  religion  are  greatly 
wanting;  and  though  every  man   is  a  politician,  true 
politics  are  little  understood.     The  lands  are  mostly 
possessed    by   poor,    ignorant,  or   indolent   farmers; 
and  yield  extremely  little  in  comparison  with  what 
they  might   yield  under  wise  and  efficient   manage- 
ment.    Trade   is   in   a   low  state.     Labour   is  very 
dear;  and  servants   scarce,   bad,   ignorant   and  lazy. 
In  the  possession  of  an  industrious,  enterprising  peo- 
ple, this   country  would   be  a  very  rich   one.     To- 
bacco, hops,  vines,  and  all  sorts  of  fruit  thrive  here, 
but  none  of  them  to  any  extent  are  cultivated  in  this 
neigiibourhood.      Hemp  and   flax   are   rarely   culti- 
vated; though  what  little  is  sown  rises  plentifully. 
The  people  here  have  no  attachment  to  their  estates, 
but  are  ready  to  sell  them  whenever  a  buyer  offers, 
and    to  retire   into   the    wilderness.      As    this    new 
world  is  unfortunately  composed,  like  that  of  Kpi- 
curus,   of    discordant    atoms,  jumbled   together   by 
chance,  and    tossed   by  inconstancy   in   an   immense 
vacuum,   it   greatly  wants   a  principle   of  attraction 
and  cohesion.     Such  may  come  in  time,  but  it  has 
not  yet  taken  place.     Legislative  wisdom  is  greatly 
wanting,  as  most  of  our  members  have  no  other  poll- 


1G8  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISEET. 

tical  qualifications  than  their  election  bestows  or 
them.  Common  sense  may  be  introduced,  but  it 
must  be  gradually,  and  with  difficulty.  The  great 
extent  of  the  country  is  likewise  agninst  its  improve- 
ment. With  regard  to  my  own  situation  it  is  tole- 
rable, though  not  according  to  expectation,  and  must 
improve  only  by  the  improvement  of  the  public.  1 
have  more  trouble  with  the  old  than  with  the  young, 
Our  Trustees  are  generally  men  of  small  acquaint- 
ance with  letters,  even  those  that  have  been  bred  to 
learned  professions,  and  can  scarcely  be  made  to  un- 
derstand their  duty.  The  impoitation  of  books  has 
almost  ceased  since  the  war,  except  novels,  plays  and 
Buch  trifles.  There  is  little  curiosity,  and  conse- 
quently little  knowledge.  The  youth  readily  re- 
ceive the  superficial  and  introductory  parts  of  know- 
ledge; but  are  little  fit  for  abstract  studies,  or  any 
thing  that  requires  perserverance  and  application; 
and  being  mostly  destitute  of  books,  helps,  and  ob- 
jects of  ambition,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  flag  in 
their  studies,  and  sit  down  contented  with  low  at- 
tainments.'^ 

"  My  department  in  this  College  is  moral  philo- 
sophy; but,  for  the  want  of  an  adequate  number  of 
teachers,  I  am  obliged  to  give  a  course  of  logic  and 
metaphysics.  We  have  but  four  efi'ective  teachers, 
though  we  need  two  more  at  least.  Donations  have 
raised  our  library  to  about  2800  volumes.  It  con- 
tains many  good  books;  though  our  wants  in  that 
department  are  still  numerous.  Our  numbers  are 
short  of  a  Scotch  seminary,  but  nearly  equal  to 
those  of  this  country.  We  have  been  in  pretty  good 
health  since  July  last;  though  the  extremes  of  heat 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  169 

and  cold  are  still  hard  on  us.  As  to  sending  out 
Probationers  from  Scotland  to  this  country,  I  could 
not  advise  it  till  the  people  here  are  more  sensible  of 
their  wants.  A  man  must  have  the  spirit  of  martyr- 
dom that  would  travel  thousands  of  miles,  over  large 
deserts,  not  knowing  where  he  is  to  settle,  and  when 
settled,  having  no  certainty  that  most  or  all  of  his 
congregation  may  not  leave  the  place,  without  taking 
him  along  with  them.  In  September  last,  I  made  a 
journey  to  New  York,  which  is  210  miles  hence. 
The  country  of  Jersey  is  flat  and  pleasant,  and  pretty 
well  settled,  though  numbers  of  the  inhabitants  are 
daily  moving  westward.  The  Raritan,  the  Passaic, 
the  Hackensack,  and  the  Hudson  are  fine  navigable 
streams,  though  little  commercial,  except  the  last. 
New  York  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  extremity 
of  an  island,  and  resembles  an  European  city  more 
than  any  place  I  have  seen  on  this  continent.  I 
viewed,  with  a  mixture  of  pleasure  and  concern, 
many  of  the  scenes  of  last  war,  and  surveyed  the 
progress  of  the  fire  which  was  once  so  fatal  to  this 
city.  Almost  all  the  ruins  were  built  up  in  a  tolera- 
ble, and  some  of  them  in  a  magnificent  manner.  The 
houses  are  higher  than  those  in  Philadelphia,  though 
mostly  of  brick.  The  inhabitants  are  gay  and  luxu- 
rious in  the  extreme,  though  not  much  attentive  to 
religion,  or  paying  their  debts.  I  preached  to  two 
very  large  congregations,  the  most  genteel  in  appear- 
ance I  ever  saw,  though  I  believe  very  few  are 
opulent.  I  dined  next  day  with  the  President  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  the  Representatives  of 
nine  States.  Some  of  them  are  decent  sensible  men, 
and  others  young  and  raw,  having  been  chosen  only 
15 


170  MEMOIR    OF    BR.  NISEE'T. 

for  their  military  service  last  war.  Long  Island  is 
almost  as  near  New  York  as  Ferryden  is  to  Mont- 
rose. It  is  a  beautiful  high  land,  seemingly  well 
cultivated,  and  affords  a  fine  prospect  as  far  as  the 
Narrows,  about  ten  miles  below  the  city.  Staten 
Island  has  a  wilder,  but  not  a  disagreeable  appear- 
ance. Mr.  Thompson,  after  his  wanderings  in  Vir- 
ginia, has  got  a  good  congregation  in  Johnstown, 
150  miles  above  New  York,  Mr.  Monro  was  or- 
dained in  June  last,  about  70  miles  east  from  Car- 
lisle, on  the  frontiers  of  Maryland;  but  I  have  never 
seen  him,  or  had  a  letter  from  him.  Mr.  Addison, 
who  went  out  with  us,  has  been  a  year  at  Washing- 
ton, 225  miles  west  of  this  place;  but  not  being  able 
to  get  settled,  on  account  of  the  refractory  humour 
of  his  Presbytery,  is  likely  to  change  his  profession 
for  the  more  gainful  one  of  the  law.  A  daughter  of 
Mr.  Grant,  late  minister  of  Dundurcus,  to  whom  he 
was  engaged,  came  over  to  Philadelphia  last  summer. 
He  went  down,  and  they  were  married  in  Septem- 
ber last,  and  passed  this  place  on  their  way  home, 
while  I  was  at  New  York.  Mr.  Ross  and  his  wife 
are  settled  at  Pittsburgh,  where  he  has  made  pur- 
chases, though  I  do  not  know  whether  they  will  be 
gainful,  at  least  for  a  time.  He  is  building  a  distil- 
lery, and  has  boats  for  supplying  the  town  with  coal. 
It  is  probable  that  Pittsburgh  will  be  a  considerable 
place  in  a  short  time,  as  so  many  are  daily  flocking 
to  that  neighbourhood.  Twenty  waggons,  upon  an 
average,  every  day,  have  passed  that  way  in  the 
course  of  this  year,  and  we  have  seen  them  passing 
even  since  the  snow  fell.'' 

"  What  may  be  the  fate  of  this  country  is  uncer- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  171 

tain;  but  there  is  a  large  scope  for  industry,  if  direct- 
ed by  wisdom,  and  not  interrupted  by  war.  We 
have  little  or  no  inteliigence  here,  which  makes  us 
very  dull,  and  the  people  in  general  are  not  curious 
either  as  to  what  passes  among  themselves  or  else- 
where. We  are  alarmed  with  the  report  of  a  war 
with  England,  upon  a  suspicion,  it  is  said,  that  the 
people  of  this  country  intend  to  seize  some  of  their 
West  India  Islands;  but  your  ministry  would  be 
foolish  indeed  were  they  to  entertain  any  such  sus- 
picion of  people  that  have  neither  ships  nor  any  de- 
sire for  insular  possessions.  The  people  here  are 
not  in  the  least  disposed  to  make  war  against  any 
power  whatever,  except  with  Spain,  whose  posses- 
sions are  too  distant  to  be  in  any  danger  from  their 
efforts,  at  least  for  a  century  to  come.  Some  thought- 
less people  in  the  southern  States  would  be  glad  ta 
declare  war  against  Spain,  for  opening  the  navigatioa 
of  the  Mississippi,  though  they  have  no  use  for  such 
a  navigation  at  present,  and  cannot  procure  the  con- 
sent of  the  other  States  to  any  thing  of  this  kind.  I 
hear  of  little  or  no  emigration  to  this  country:  520 
people,  being  a  whole  parish  in  the  Isle  of  Skye, 
emigrated  this  spring;  but  were  advised  to  land  at 
Quebec,  as  they  were  assured  that  England  would 
make  war  against  this  country  in  a  little  time.  I 
observe  in  the  London  Reviews,  that  pamphlets  are 
writing  in  England,  prophecying  the  submission  of 
this  country  to  Great  Britain;  and  Lady  Leven's 
letter,  without  date,  which  accompanied  yours,  con- 
tained a  question,  whether  there  was  a  disposition 
in  the  people  here  to  return  to  their  allegiance.  I 
suspect  that  something  is  brewing  among  you  to  re- 


172  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

vive  the  horrors  of  war  in  this  country;  but  I  hope 
that  the  death  of  the  Prussian  monarch  may  turn  the 
attention  of  your  great  Commoner  to  conquer  Ame- 
rica in  Germany,  which  will  give  no  disturbance 
here.  Manufactures  must  be  introduced  into  this 
country  before  it  can  flourish;  and  this  cannot  be 
done  but  by  a  long  peace,  and  the  removal  of  strong 
prejudices.'^ 

"  I  have  just  now  read  Dr.  Anderson's  book  on 
the  improvement  of  the  British  Fisheries  and  West- 
ern Islands.  It  contains  many  maxims  of  sound 
sense  and  good  policy.  I  only  differ  from  him  as  to 
the  consequences  of  emigration;  though  he  says 
that  Dr.  Price  has  been  brought  over  to  his  opinion. 
He  does  not  consider  that  almost  every  person  who 
emigrates  from  Great  Britain  is  in  distress  and  po- 
verty, and  can  get  little  or  nothing  to  consume  at 
home,  for  the  encouragement  of  industry  at  home: 
whereas  in  his  reasoning  he  supposes  them  all  to  be 
people  of  fortune,  and  excellent  customers  to  the  far- 
mer, the  butcher,  the  brewer,  and  baker,  whereas 
most  of  them  have  not  a  morsel  of  bread,  nor  can 
get  any  work  to  earn  it.  Were  Dr.  Anderson's 
scheme  to  be  instantly  carried  into  execution,  emi- 
gration might  become  less  necessary  for  many  of  the 
poorer  sort.  But  at  present  I  am  certain  that  it  is 
the  interest  of  poor  working  people  to  emigrate  to 
this  country.  If  they  come  over  young,  they  may, 
by  industry,  acquire  the  property  of  a  good  planta- 
tion in  ten  or  twelve  years,  whieh  they  could  never 
hope  for  at  home.  If  this  country  were  cultivated 
by  English  or  Scotch  farmers,  its  product  and  riches 
would  be  very  great,  and  it  might  maintain  a  large 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  173 

and  opulent  landed  interest.  But  no  body  will  be 
a  tenant  in  a  country  where  he  can  so  soon  become  a 
j3roprietor;  so  that  our  landed  interest  consists  of  a 
yeomanry  who  labour  their  own  lands,  and  who  are, 
of  course,  not  very  enlightened.  Their  children,  al- 
most uniformly,  embrace  the  same  profession,  as  lands 
are  always  to  be  had.  A  tradesman,  though  he  might 
make  more  money,  is  little  thought  of  in  compari- 
son with  a  farmer.  This  perverse  way  of  thinking, 
however,  must  continue  either  until  they  are  in  dis- 
tress for  want  of  foreign  commodities,  or  till  some 
projecting  genius  embraces  the  profession  of  a  trades- 
man or  manufacturer.  Dr.  Anderson  seems  like- 
wise to  be  wrong  in  discouraging  the  building  of 
villages,  as  all  towns  have  grown  out  of  them,  even 
Rome  and  Laurence-kirk  not  excepted.  They  may 
be  improper  in  the  Hebrides,  but  in  a  fertile  country 
I  think  they  ought  to  be  encouraged;  as  all  counties 
here  are  divided  into  townships.  I  have  frequently 
told  our  farmers  that  they  ought  to  build  the  rudi- 
ments of  a  town  in  the  most  convenient  situation 
near  the  centre  of  each  of  these  townships,  and  told 
them  that  these  would  soon  increase,  especially  if 
they  would  breed  some  of  their  children  to  trades, 
and  settle  them  in  these  villages.  The  whole  lands 
of  the  townships  would  rise  in  value.  But  this  is 
what  they  cannot  comprehend;  and  they  would  be 
sorry  to  contribute  to  the  emolument  of  the  proprietor 
of  the  lands  nearest  the  village." 

"  I  am  in  hopes  that  the  difficulties  we  are  under 

here  in  discharging  the  high  taxes  laid  in  the  last 

years  of  the  war,  will  be  soon  over.     Our  ordinary 

taxes  are  a  mere  trifle  in  comparison  of  yours  iq 

15* 


174  MEMOIR    OP    DR.   NISBET. 

Great  Britain,  and  cannot  occasion  the  smallest  incon- 
venience. I  am  pleased  to  observe  that  our  Legis- 
lature are  beginning  to  discern  the  importance  and 
necessity  of  making  good  roads,  and  setting  about 
that  great  work.  I  wish  also  that  they  could  be  per- 
suaded to  discourage  travelling  on  the  Lord's  day, 
which  abounds  here  to  a  shameful  degree.  We  have 
laws  good  enough  for  that  purpose,  but  nobody  is 
appointed  or  encouraged  to  put  them  in  execution. 
In  a  word,  many  things  among  us  need  reformation; 
and,  though  we  have  the  means  in  our  own  hands, 
there  is  little  prospect  of  their  being  reformed  in 
haste.  The  ignorance  of  many  of  our  citizens,  who 
have  come  hither  in  a  rude  state,  and  their  wanting 
opportunities  of  improvement  by  the  distance  of  their 
dwellings,  and  the  general  neglect  of  public  worship, 
as  well  as  the  scarcity  and  dearness  of  good  books, 
contribute  greatly  to  continue  them  in  their  igno- 
rance, and  to  strengthen  their  prejudices.  The 
Courts  of  Law  are  almost  the  only  operative  cause 
that  brings  men  together  here,  or  awakens  the  facul- 
ties of  their  minds;  and  you  cannot  imagine  to  what 
degree  these  are  employed  and  encouraged  among 
us.  Our  Lawyers  are  not  so  learned  as  yours;  but 
they  are  generally  men  of  respectable  knowledge  and 
liberality  of  manners.  The  landed  interest  are  the 
least  enlightened,  though  there  are  some  honourable 
exceptions.  I  imagine  that  the  want  of  genius  among 
our  news-writers,  and  the  barrenness  of  events  in  our 
papers,  are  likewise  partial  causes  of  that  stagnation 
of  the  human  faculties  which  prevails  in  this  coun- 
try; as  well  as  the  want  of  cross  posts,  and  readiness 
of  communication.     1  live  a  very  laborious  life,  and 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  175 

must  expect  no  interruption  of  labours  for  at  least  nine 
months  to  come.  1  am  endeavouring  to  get  the 
people  to  attend  public  worship,  and  we  hope  to  have 
two  sermons  next  sabbath,  which  is  a  great  reform. 
Some  people  are  beginning  to  think,  and  I  hope  bet- 
ter times  are  approaching.  Nine  of  my  pupils  are 
destined  to  the  service  of  the  Church,  and  have  meet- 
ings for  prayer.  But  things  must  go  on  slowly.  I 
consider  myself  as  engaged,  with  others,  in  the  inglo- 
rious but  useful  labour  of  digging  under  ground,  and 
laying  the  foundation  of  a  building  that  may  rise  and 
make  some  figure  in  another  age.  Let  me  hear  from 
you  soon,  and  send  me  all  the  intelligence,  public  and 
private,  that  you  can  collect,  Remember  me  kindly 
to  all  friends.  I  am,  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir,  yours, 
aflfectionately,,"  "  Charles  Nisbet." 

^^  Rev.  Mr.  James  Paton.^^ 

Every  one  who  recollects  the  state  of  our  country 
from  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  in  1783,  to 
the  adoption  and  organization  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment, in  1789,  during  which  the  foregoing  letter  was 
written; — the  wide-spread  poverty — the  prostration 
of  commerce — the  general  discouragement — the  mu- 
tual distrust — the  absence  of  enterprise — and  the  pre- 
vailing gloom — which  were  portrayed  in  a  preceding 
page — will  undoubtedly  regard  the  picture  drawn  by 
the  venerable  writer  as  an  unexaggerated  one;  and 
will  only  wonder,  that,  coming  as  he  did  from  a  land 
of  wealth  and  of  established  order — he  did  not  load 
his  canvass  with  still  darker  colours.  The  truth  is, 
this  learned  and  excellent  man  fell  into  a  mistake 
very   common   among  the   most    enlightened   who 


176  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

visit  our  country  from  the  other  side  of  the  At- 
lantic. He  found  it  difficult  to  make  the  requisite 
allowance  for  a  young  countr}^,  struggling  into  na- 
tional organization  and  order.  He  measured  Ame- 
rican facts  hy  European  principles.  Had  he  lived 
thirty  years  longer,  he  would  have  seen  that  the  want 
of  intelligence,  of  wakefulness  to  their  advantages, 
and  of  enterprise  in  pursuing  opportunities  of  im- 
provement and  of  profit,  was  one  of  the  last  charges 
justly  imputable  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United 
States. 

It  was  remarked,  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that,  in 
the  great  contest  between  the  British  government, 
and  her  American  colonies,  which  is.«ued  in  the  in- 
dependence of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Nisbet  was  a 
warm  whig,  and  gave  much  offence  to  m.any  in  his 
own  country,  by  taking,  on  a  variety  of  occasions, 
the  side  of  the  Colonies.  With  these  feelings  he 
came  to  America,  ft  cannot  be  disguised,  however, 
that  when  he  found,  after  being  for  a  time  in  the 
country,  the  general  state  of  things  to  be  so  different 
from  what  he  had  been  taught  to  expect; — the  low 
state  of  literature;  the  deranged  condition  of  our  com- 
mercial affairs;  the  failure  of  the  founders  and  guar- 
dians of  his  College  to  redeem  their  pledges;  and  the 
erratic  notions  and  conduct  of  many  of  our  politicians 
respecting  the  govermental  questions  of  the  day ; — he 
was  not  a  little  revolted,  and  began  to  fear  that  the 
Republicanism  of  the  United  States  would  prove  a 
miserable  failure.  And  it  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  character  of  the  first  five  or  six  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  our  country,  was  such,  that  a  mind  of  his  sen- 
sibility, and  accustomed  to  European  establishments. 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  177 

might  well  be  pardoned  for  giving  way  to  such  a  re- 
vulsion. 

To  this  may  be  added,  that  the  impression  from 
what  hesawaround  him,  was  greatly  deepened  by  the 
occurrence  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  the  terrific 
scenes  which,  for  more  than  ten  years,  that  nation 
presented  to  the  civilized  world.  From  the  moment 
that  revolution  commenced.  Dr.  Nisbet  seemed  to 
regard  it  with  horror,  and  predicted  most  of  the  dread- 
ful results  which  are  now  matters  of  history.  Of 
course,  when  he  saw  so  many  in  the  United  States 
disposed  to  rejoice  in  that  Revolution,  and  to  applaud 
its  worst  features,  he  found  it  difficult  to  restrain 
his  feelings,  or  to  repress  the  language  of  indignant 
vituperation.  When  this  subject  was  alluded  to,  it 
seldom  failed  to  call  forth  his  keenest  wit,  his  most 
biting  sarcasm,  and  the  most  distressing  apprehen- 
sions of  fatal  mischief  likely  to  be  poured  forth  from 
France,  as  from  an  awful  volcano,  on  ourselves,  and 
on  every  other  nation  within  the  sphere  of  her  influ- 
ence. In  the  course  of  a  most  interesting  and  long- 
continued  correspondence  with  him,  the  writer  of 
these  pages  recollects  no  one  subject  on  which  he 
poured  out  so  much  weight  of  thought;  so  much  fer- 
vid eloquence;  so  much  that  was  adapted  to  exhibit 
him,  amidst  all  his  cutting  severity,  as  one  of  the 
most  benevolent  and  patriotic  of  men. 

From  the  Countess  of  Leven  and  Melville. 

"  Dear  Sir,'' . 

"  Melville  House,  Jan.  20th,  1788." 
"  I  received  your  letter  dated  the  17th  of  Septem- 
ber, about  a  week  ago;  by  which  I  am  sorry  to  find 


178  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

your  situation  is  not  likely  to  become  more  agreea- 
ble; and  that  you  cannot  give  a  more  favourable  re- 
presentation of  the  state  of  religion,  &c.  in  that  part  of 
the  world  where  you  now  are,  I  am  afraid  the  pic- 
ture you  exhibit  is  by  no  means  a  caricature,  extorted 
by  predjudice  or  discontent;  as  I  find  others  corrobo- 
rating your  statement,  especially  concerning  the  state 
of  religion.  A  young  gentleman  from  this  neigh- 
bourhood writes  in  the  very  same  strain.  He  says 
the  holy  sabbath  is  not  regarded,  and  the  churches 
of  Philadelphia  very  ill  attended;  not  above  forty 
communicants,  he  states,  in  the  church  which  he  at- 
tended. I  have  always  wished,  since  you  landed  there, 
that  you  had  come  out  from  among  them:  for  instead 
of  being  of  more  use  there  than  at  home,  as  matters 
now  stand,  I  fear  you  are  of  much  less,  I  have 
never  had  more  than  one  view  of  that  matter  alto- 
gether, as  you  well  know;  for  I  always  told  you  my 
sentiments,  though  with  much  diffidence,  and  am  sor- 
ry that  you  did  not  take  your  departure  from  Ameri- 
ca, as  you  had  once  firmly  resolved  to  do.  I  always 
think  that  you  will  yet  end  your  daj^s  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic.  To  be  sure  much  depends  on  the 
state  of  your  family,  of  which  you  never  say  any 
thing;  how^the  children  are  situated  and  employed, 
&c.  Your  letters  are  very  entertainingand  instructive; 
but  always  make  one  sorry  upon  your  own  account, 
and  on  account  of  the  woful  change  for  the  worse 
upon  that  once  highly  favoured  part  of  the  world.  I 
forget  who  it  is  that'says— 

"  Religion  stands  on  tiptoe  in  our  land, 
<'Read)'  to  fly  to  the  American  strand." 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  179 

And  surely  1  thought  it  had  taken  its  fliglit  thither; 
for  once  I  thought  they  were  all  saints,  especially 
from  some  samples  I  saw  of  them,  and  good  reports 
we  heard.  But,  by  all  accounts,  religion  has  taken 
wing  again;  though,  alas!  I  do  not  find  that  she  has 
landed  on  the  British  shore,  or  would  meet  with  a 
welcome  there." 

"  I  look  for  something  extra  coming  from  our  be- 
loved Sovereign's  tedious  illness; — that  it  will  not  be 
unto  death,  but  for  the  glory  of  God.  It  has  called 
the  attention  of  all  ranks,  and  made  a  sort  of  solemn 
pause,  and  given  many  people  time  to  consider  who 
never  think  at  all.  The  public  amusements  are  all 
hushed,  and  churches  crowded  to  hear  the  many  fer- 
vent prayers  to  heaven  for  the  restoration  of  his  pre- 
cious health.  The  royal  family  are  all  quite  deject- 
ed, and  afflicted,  which  may  be  of  great  use  by  the 
blessing  of  God.  The  last  time  the  king  was  abroad 
was  at  the  Chapel,  where  he  would  be,  in  spite  of  ad- 
vice to  the  contrary;  and  the  Queen,  and  Princes  and 
Princesses  have  the  worship^of  God  in  the  Queen's 
apartment.  These,  and  other  things  too  tedious  to 
mention,  appear  to  be  tokens  for  good.  The  nation 
was  never  more  united,  or  more  fervent  in  their 
Vv'ishes  than  they  are  at  present  for  the  preservation 
and  establishment  of  the  king's  health.  Surely  there 
never  was  a  sovereign  more  universally  beloved." 

"  I  am  at  a  loss  how  to  fill  the  rest  of  my  paper 
with  such  intelligence  as  would  be  interesting,  to 
you.     All  your   friends  are  well,  so  far  as  I  know." 

"March  2d.  I  must  just  say  to  you,  as  the  wor- 
thy and  Rev.  Mr.  Newton  said  to  me,  in  a  letter 
which  I  received  from  him  lately, — began  about  two 


180  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

months  before  it  was  finished; — that  he  sent  the  first 
part  to  convince  me  of  his  intentions;  but  from  vari- 
ous occurrences,  he  had  never  found  it  convenient  to 
finish  what  he  had  begun.  This  too,  has  been  the 
case  with  me;  and  I  would  not  send  such  a  confused 
scrawl  to  such  a  distance,  were  it  not  as  a  proof  that 
I  had  not  forgotten  you.  My  fear  is,  that  my  long 
silence  may  make  you  suspect  what  can  never  be 
truth  concerning  me,  that  I  forget  or  can  make  light 
of  a  friend.  Beside  that,  you  may  be  assured  I  con- 
sider the  loss  as  my  own,  as  your  letters  are  a  great 
entertainment  to  me.  But  .the  truth  is,  I  am  kept 
too  busy;  though  I  fear  often  idly  busy.  I  hope  this 
will  find  you  well." 

"Since  this  letter  was  begun,  a  great  change  has 
been  wrought  in  the  state  of  affairs  in  Britain  by  the 
happy  recovery  of  our  beloved  Sovereign.  The  joy 
is  beyond  description  or  imagination  from  the  low- 
est to  the  highest.  I  must  refer  you  to  the  public 
papers  for  all  that  happened  during  the  sad  interval 
of  his  illness.  There  appears  to  be  a  great  work  up- 
on the  wheel  at  present.  I  wish  I  could  have  an 
opportunity  of  conversing  with  you,  to  hear  your 
lively  observations  and  animadversions  about  many 
things.  Let  me  know  how  you  are  as  to  health  and 
contentment;  and  whether  you  feel  settled  in  life;  or 
intend  to  end  your  days  in  Britain." 

"  I  am  sorry  to  find  that  poor  Mr.  Muir  has  got 
no  settlement.  Perhaps,  by  this  time,  it  may  be 
otherwise.  He  is,  I  believe,  a  good  man;  what  his 
foibles  are  I  cannot  say.  When  you  write,  pray  let 
me  know  the  history  of  your  own  family.  This  fa- 
mily, by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  his  infinite  mercy, 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  181 

are  all  alive,  and  much  increased.  Lord  Balgonie 
has  three  sons.  Mary  has  had  nine  children,  of  whom 
seven  are  still  living;  and  she  does  not  look  to  be 
above  twenty.  Remember  us  in  your  prayers.  We 
have  much  to  be  thankful  for,'' 

"  I  thought  you  had  corresponded  with  worthy 
old  Dr.  Gillies.  He  is  alive  and  well,  and  would  es- 
teem a  letter  from  you  very  highly.  Mr.  Martin 
and  family  are  all  well.  He  remains  *  the  husband 
of  one  wife,'  notwithstanding  your  prediction.  My 
Lord  sends  his  best  respects  to  you,  in  which  my 
daughters  join.  Please  to  oflfer  mine  to  Mrs  Nisbet; 
and  be  assured  that  I  continue  to  be  with  real  esteem, 
your  humble  servant," 

"W  Leven." 

"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet,  Carlisle.'' 

From  the  same. 

''  Melville  House,  August  1st,  17S8." 
^<  Dear  Sir,'' 

^'  Though  I  am  distressed  with  sore  eyes,  I  have 
taken  a  large  sheet  of  paper,  in  case  I  can  find  where- 
withal to  fill  it.  It  is  with  regret  that  I  reflect  how 
long  it  is  since  I  had  your's  of  December  25th.  Not 
answering  it  immediately  is  the  reason  of  the  delay; 
for  a  variety  of  pressing  occupations  makes  me  neg- 
lect many  necessary  duties  which  slip  out  of  my 
mind." 

"  I  am  sorry  that  you  have  no  better  news  to  write 
from  your  quarter,  either  with  regard  to  370ur  own 
situation,  or  the  state  of  religion  among  you.  I  shall 
be  glad  to  hear  what  your  great  expectations  have 
resulted  in  from  the  new  Constitution  of  the  United 
16 


18:2  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISEEf. 

States  lately  proposed  and  adopted.  When  I  mtri^ 
tioned  Ihe  possibility  of  di  young  man  being  better 
to  go  to  America  than  you,  I  surely  intended  to  say 
to  combat,  not  to  compli/  with^  the  prejudices  of  the 
people;  for  in  many  res])ects,  indeed,  this  might  be 
much  ag;iinst  a  nnan's  character.  In  all  difficult 
emergencies  a  steady  person  is  the  fittest;  as  sinfu! 
compliances  are  always  attended  with  bad  consequen- 
ces. Though  in  other  matters  it  is  often  necessary 
and  winning  to  use  gentle  means.'' 

"It  is  a  mutter  of  deep  regret  to  be  informed  of 
such  a  woeful  change  for  the  worse  as  America,  in 
general,  has  undergone  of  late.  I  once  looked  upon 
it  as  the  most  highly  favoured  corner  of  the  earth,  in 
many  respects,  but  chiefly  with  regard  to  religion. 
When  the  Lord  honoured  Mr.  WhiteSeld  to  be  a  lead- 
ing man  among  them,  in  many  places  religion  flour- 
ished and  increased.  He  had  no  bye  views  or  ends.' 
The  glory  of  God,  and  the  good  of  souls,  were  the 
main  spring  of  all  his  movements.  The  war  did 
much  hurt;  turned  the  people  idle  and  forgetful  of 
God,  and  indeed  of  every  thing  but  liberty,  falsely 
so  called.  And,  1  doubt  not,  it  has  been  to  many  a 
fatal  liberly,  very  different  from  that  of  'the  chil- 
dren of  light.'  Poor  Mr.  Thompson  is  arrived,  in  a 
very  depiessed  situation.  It  is  several  months  since 
he  came  to  Hritain.  He  is  now  in  Dundee.  He 
describes  iiis  situation  to  have  been  most  affecting. 
Some  of  tile  people  were  unable  to  pay  his  stipend, 
from  poverty;  others,  from  want  of  will.  The  mo- 
ney he  carried  out,  (having  sold  his  annuity,)  he 
bought  land  With,  of  which  he  could  make  nothing; 
and  was  obliged  to  slip  away,  even  without  his  poor 


RESIDENCE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  183 

wife,  who  staid,  I  fear,  as  a  hostage.  I  hope  the 
people  of  Dundee  mean  to  serve  him  in  some  shape 
or  other.     lie  has,  indeed,  had  a  sore  time  of  it." 

"There  is  nothing  in  this  country  to  write  about 
but  what  you  will  get  from  the  newspapers  and 
magazines,  A  great  deal  is  said  and  attempted  about 
Sunday  schools,  and  reformation  of  manners,  which, 
by  the  blessing  of  God,  I  hope  will  have  a  good 
effect.  The  former  have  already  had  wonderful 
effects,  especially  in  large  trading  towns,  both  in  Scot- 
land and  England .  Youv  friends  about  Glasgow,  &c. 
could  tell  you  much  about  this.  I  thought  that  Dr. 
Gillies  and  you  corresponded.  Surely  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon  and  he  correspond.  He  is  always  busy  about 
something,  and  will  be  to  the  last,  if  his  faculties  re- 
main. I  beg  to  be  remembered  to  Dr.  Wilherspoon, 
when  you  see  him.  I  regretted  not  seeing  him  when 
he  was  in  Scotland.*  It  surprises  me  that,  when 
you  write,  you  say  nothing  about  your  own  family. 
I  hope  your  son  has  gotten  rid  of  all  impediments  in 
his  sight,  and  is  doing  as  you  could  wish  him." 

"  I  find,  by  a  letter  from  Mr.  Muir,  who  was  at 
Bermuda,  that  he  is  gone  to  New  York.  Of  this  Dr. 
W.  would  inform  you,  as  he  has  written  a  short  Pre- 
face to  a  few  Sermons  he  has  published;  the  price  of 
which,  by  tlie  time  it  reached  me — a  single  volume 
— was  19  shillings  and  2  pence.  He  thoughtlessly 
sent  it  by  post;  whereas  in  a  ship  it  would  only  have 
been  a  triiie,  if  any  thing.      He  is  a  pious,  good  man, 

*  Dr.  Witherspoon,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  American  war,  W8S 
commissioned  by  the  Trustees  of  Princeton  College  to  visit  Great 
Britain,  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting  donations  to  that  Institution,  Hia 
mission,  however,  was  not  attended  with  much  success, 


184  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

I  am  persuaded,  and  wish  he  may  succeed  where  he 
now  is.  He  married  too  young,  which  is  sometimes 
no  small  evil.  He  does  not  mention  whether  he  has 
any  children.  1  should  be  glad  to  know  how  he  is 
received,  or  whether  he  is  in  any  settled  way.  I  am 
glad  he  is  under  the  tuition  of  Dr.  Rodgers,  to  whom 
he  desires  me  to  direct  for  him." 

"I  shall  be  gratified  to  be  informed  how  you  and 
your  family  keep  your  health.  Have  you  laid  aside 
all  thought  of  returning  to  your  native  land?  I  sin- 
cerely wish  you  and  yours  may  be  happy.  You  have 
imbibed,  I  perceive,  a  bad  idea  of  the  Methodists 
since  you  went  abroad.  There  are  good  and  bad  in 
all  sects  and  parties.  Yet  strange  that  one  who  ever 
knew  that  eminent  and  favoured  saint,  Mr.  George 
Whitefield,  should  harbour  a  doubt  that  the  Lord  was 
with  him  of  a  truth, and  countenanced  his  labours  more 
than  those  of  any  other  man  since  the  Apostles'  days; 
and  at  this  moment  I  dare  say  that  the  best  people  in 
America  are  plants  of  the  precious  seed  sown  in  his 
time.  It  hurts  me  to  find  you  speaking  lightly  of 
the  Methodists  in  general.  The  good  that  some  of 
them  have  been  enabled  to  do  is  most  amazing.  It 
is  no  wonder  that  Satan  opposes  them,  and  lays  snares 
for  them." 

^*But  my  paper  is  nearly  full,  and  my  eyes  are 
failing.  1  dare  not  send  any  pamphlets,  as  the  trans- 
portation of  them  is  so  expensive.  I  will  try  to  get 
this  letter  sent  a  pennyworth.  I  fear  at  best  you 
will  think  it  a  poor  one.  If  I  knew  of  any  persons 
or  family  you  wished  to  hear  of,  I  would  mention 
them.  Mr.  Martin  is  well;  as  are  all  this  family, 
present  or  absent,  so  far  as  I  know.     Remember  us 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  185 

in  your  prayers.  Good  reason  have  we  to  say,  that 
the  Lord  is  good  and  gracious.  My  Lord  sends  his 
best  respects.  Give  mine  to  Mrs.  Nisbet.  How- 
would  she  like  to  come  back  to  Montrose?  With 
much  esteem,  I  am,  Sir," 

"  Your  humble  servant," 

^' W.  Leven." 
*'  The  Rev.  Dr.  Nishei,  Carlisle  College.'' 

From  the  same. 

''Melville  House,  Nov.  27,  1789." 
''  Dear  Sir,'' 

"  It  is  truly  presumptuous  in  me  to  begin  upon  a 
full  sheet.  Good  example,  I  know,  is  of  much  worth: 
but  we  are  often  imitators  in  those  things  which  we 
are  least  qualified  to  copy  after.  Your  great  letter 
of  August  9th  came  to  hand  September  12th,  and  was 
a  fund  of  entertainment  and  instruction,  in  regard  to 
many  things  which  we  were  before  unacquainted 
with.  To  get  these  testimonies  from  a  far  country, 
upon  the  word  of  veracity  itself,  is  rare  news.  Plen- 
ty of  news,  indeed,  pours  in  upon  us,  but  little  truth. 
What  David  said  'in  his  haste'  that  'all  men  are 
liars,^  a  worthy  friend  once  remarked,  he  might  now 
say  at  his  leisure.  Your  letters  always  give  me  plea- 
sure; but  I  still  find  a  cloud  hanging  over  them:  and 
my  regret  for  your  absence  from  your  own  country, 
is  increased  by  every  insinuation  of  your  own  for 
having  left  it.  The  decaying  state  of  religion^and 
its  fatal  consequences,  must  greatly  affect  yours,  and 
every  righteous  spirit.  The  famine  of  those  fit  to  be 
made  friends,  and  of  hearers  in  your  Church,  must 
cast  a  damp  even  upon  your  good  spirits.  It  is  a 
16* 


186  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

great  mercy  that  you  and  your  family  have  enjoyed 
good  health;  and  you  have  all  reason  to  hope  that 
your  indefatigable  labours  will  be  blessed.  But  you 
cannot  expect  to  be  long  able  to  undergo  such  an  ex- 
ertion of  strength  of  body  and  mind,  as  your  present 
labour  requires.  You  do  not  mention  what  assist- 
ance you  have,  or  whether  those  employed  are  dili- 
gent and  useful  among  the  students,  &c.  If  you 
were  destitute  of  such  comforts  as  the  world  cannot 
give,  your  situation  would  indeed,  be  most  uncomfort- 
able; as  it  is  so  little  suited  to  your  natural  genius. 
But  you  have  the  comfort  of  knowing,  that  whatso- 
ever state  you  are  in,  it  is  by  the  Divine  Providence; 
that  God  has  the  ordering  of  it;  that  all  the  ingredi- 
ents in  your  cup,  and  all  the  varieties  of  your  state, 
are  from  Him.  When  you  consider  that  there  is  no 
present  stateof  things,  how  favourable  soever,  without 
an  alloy;  that  there  is  something  in  every  condition 
of  life,  in  every  place,  to  convince  us  of  the  fruitless 
effort  of  seeking  rest  here  below.  While  we  com- 
plain of  grievances  in  this  or  that  situation,  we  might 
find  worse  in  another.  In  every  state  there  is  some- 
thing amiss;  but,  blessed  be  God,  there  ia  no  state 
that  can  exclude  those  comforts  and  consolations- 
which  cannot  be  taken  away.  Peace  grows  every 
where  from  Him  who  is  *  our  Peace.'  He  is  the 
Comforter  of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth.'' 

*' I  cannot  think  of  any  thing  to  write  for  your 
amusement.  There  is  nothing  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic  in  which  you  are  interested,  but  what  you 
know  as  much  of  as  you  probably  wish  to  know. 
Nothing  seems  to  be  improving  so  fast  as  the  art  of 
swindling,   and   deceiving  the   unwary.     There  are 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  18? 

many  ^masters  of  arts'  in  this  profession;  so  that 
one  cannot  help  admiring  their  ingenuity,  while  they 
grieve  that  it  has  not  been  employed  to  better  pur- 
pose. The  state  of  the  French  nation,  and  of  many 
places  in  Germany,  you  will  be  informed  of.  They 
are  in  a  most  deplorable  situation;  and  I  believe  the 
the  vviset  politician  can  form  no  idea  of  what  will  be 
the  issue.  Mr.  Martin  has  written  you  all  the  news 
he  could  collect,  which  I  am  glad  of,  as  I  find  that  my 
letters  can  be  little  else  than  tokens  of  remembrance 
and  of  good  wishes  for  you  and  your  family.  I  hope 
your  son  will  do  well,  and  disappoint  all  your  fears. 
Our  youngest  son,  George,  is  now  settled  in  business 
at  Ostend,  and  is  much  satisfied  with  his  situation. 
Has  your  son  gotten  his  sight  perfectly  in  his  eye 
that  was  afiected?  My  mind  is  at  present  in  much 
anxiety  and  concern  about  my  dear  and  only  sister, 
Lady  Bantf.  She  has  been  in  a  declining  state,  from 
various  causes,  for  these  twelve  months  past.  She 
has  been  better  and  worse;  but  there  seems  little 
appearance  of  returning  health.  That  sweet  fa- 
mily will  experience  a  great  loss,  if  it  should  please 
God  to  take  her  to  himself.  She  has  three  daughters 
still  unmarried;  and  Mrs.  Murray,  whom  you  will 
remember,  has  not  seen  a  day's  health  these  three 
years,  since  she  had  her  third  child;  but  I  hope  is 
now  getting  better.'' 

"  I  write  all  this  as  if  to  obtain  your  pious  prayers. 
But,  alas!  what  changes  may  have  taken  place  before 
k  can  make  its  way  to  you!  Mr.  Martin  will  have 
mentioned  about  the  weather,  earthquakes,  &c.  No- 
body remembers  such  a  wet  season.  My  Lord  in- 
tends to  send  with  this  a  few  Magazines,  containing 


188  MEMOIR   OP  DR.  NISBET. 

some  account  of  General  Assembly  matters^  and  a 
few  Scotch  newspapers,  which  we  hope  will  amuse 
you.  Though  I  know  nothing  that  at  present  occurs 
which  promises  to  interest  you,  I  beg  you  will  con- 
tinue your  interesting  and  amusing  history  to  me. 
We  have  little  from  America  that  can  be  depended 
on.  Mr.  Martin,  I  take  for  granted,  wrote  you 
about  Dr.  M'Gill.  Nobody  can  say  how  that  matter 
will  end.  It  had  much  need  to  amend.  I  hope  you 
will  hear  from  Dr.  Gillies  what  the  Presbytery  of 
Glasgow  has  done,  and  mean  to  do.  If  you  send  a 
commission  to  procure  any  books  for  your  Library, 
I  wish  you  would  get  two  volumes  entitled  ^  Horae 
Solitarise,'  or  Essays,  both  Doctrinal  and  Practical, 
upon  the  Divinity  of  Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
also  upon  the  subject  of  the  Trinity,  showing  it  to 
have  been  a  truth  received  from  the  earliest  ages,  and 
confirmed  by  the  principles  of  the  Gospel,  in  two 
volumes,  octavo.  The  author's  name  is  not  prefix- 
ed to  the  work;  but  it  is  well  known  to  be  by  Am- 
brose Serle,  Esquire,  Secretary  to  Lord  Howe,  du- 
ring the  American  war.  He  is  also  the  author  of 
"  The  Christian  Remembrancer,"  .which  I  will  send 
with  the  Magazines.  His  works  are  very  much  es- 
teemed by  good  people;  and  I  dare  say  you  would 
admire  that  work  very  much,  as  it  is  esteemed  a 
masterly  performance;  I  mean  the  Horse  Soliiarise.^^ 
^'  I  must  now  conclude  this  VQYy  trifling  epistle, 
which  I  am  ashamed  to  think  is  to  travel  so  far,  to  so 
little  purpose;  and  which  can  serve  only  as  a  mark 
of  that  esteem  which  I  have  entertained  for  you  ever 
aince  Nostrodamus  introduced  us  to  each  other's 
acquaintancej  or  rather  those  enemies  of  yours,  who 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  tTNITED  STA°*rES.  189 

raised  such  ridiculous  stories  about  a  sermon  of 
your's,  which  I  resolved  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  by 
inquiring  at  the  fountain  head.  Best  respects  await 
you  from  all  here,  and  mine  to  Mrs.  Nisbet.  My 
Lord  is  much  entertained  with  your  letters,  and  de- 
sires to  be  particularly  remembered  to  you.  Many 
thanks  for  the  Pastoral  Letter.  It  is  an  exceedingly 
good  one.  I  would  be  much  indebted  to  you  for  any 
scraps  of  lectures,  or  explanations  of  any  passages  of 
scripture,  which  you  may  juflge  adapted  to  be  useful, 
lam  very  partial  to  your  talents  in  this  way;  and 
really  few  possess  them.  You  ought  to  publish  a 
volume." 

"How  do  Dr.  Rush  and  all  his  family?  It  is 
a  long  time  since  I  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  of 
them;  but  1  do  sincerely  wish  them  well.  Believe 
me,  with  much  esteem  and  friendship,  your  humble 
servant.'^  *'  VV.  Leven." 

''  The  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet,  Carlisle  College.'' 

The  Earl  of  Buchan  was  a  less  punctual  and  a  less 
devoted  correspondent  than  Lady  Leven.  Still  his 
letters  are  peculiarly  characteristic,  and  by  no  means 
uninteresting.     The  following  are  a  specimen. 

''  Bryburgh  Abbey,  December  21,  1790.'^ 
"  Rev.  and  dear  Sir.'' 

"I  did  not  receive  yours,  of  March  last,  by  the 
way  of  Liverpool,  until  two  days  ago:  and  since  that 
letter  contains  observations  and  reflections  which  in- 
dicate the  uneasy  state  of  your  mind,  which  I  wish 
to  remove,  I  lose  no  time  in  giving  you  my  opinions 
without  reserve,  which  you  will,  I  dare  say,  think 


190  'MEMOIR  or  DR.  NISBET. 

worthy  of  your  deep  and  frequent  attention,  and  will 
ponder  them  in  your  mind  yet  oftenerand  more  ma- 
turely than  tiiose  relating  to  the  future  state  of  Ame- 
rica, with  respect  to  which  I  find  no  cause  to  change 
my  opinion.'^ 

"  Re-enter,  I  beseech  of  you,  into  your  own  mind, 
and  study  more  the  itoXi;  <rou  &sov  than  the  itoXig  tuv 
av^^oTwv.  How  could  you  expect  unregenerated  and 
unsanctified  human  nature  to  be  any  otherwise  in 
in  the  new  than  in  the  old  hemisphere?  How  could 
you  expect  that  the  spawn  of  a  highl}-  civilized  and 
corrupted  nation,  could,  in  colonies,  formed  at  a  time 
of  uncommon  corruption  in  the  parent  state,  should 
resemble  in  principles  and  in  practice  those  societies 
that  have  grown  out  of  a  gradual  alteration  in  the 
substance  of  original  union  among  men  in  the  infan- 
cy of  society;  and  which  in  the  lapse  of  ten  or 
twelve  centuiies,  have  passed  through  all  the  differ- 
ent states  of  wandering  families,  feeding  on  kernels 
and  fruits;  of  barbarous  hunters;  more  innocent  ten- 
ders of  flocks  and  herds;  of  husbandmen;  and  lastly 
of  manufacturers  and  traders,  united  in  great,  weal- 
thy and  luxurious  empires,  tending  again,  continual- 
ly, towards  destruction  and  separation  by  corruption 
of  manners;  while  the  wheel  is  again  to  be  revolved 
in  the  saine  eventful  manner,  perhaps  for  ages?" 

"Why  do  you  perplex  your  understanding,  and 
wound  your  feelings  by  brooding  over,  and  inquiring 
needlessly  into  the  obliquities  of  mankind  in  the 
place  of  your  residence?  Were  you  in  Scotland,  or 
in  any  part  of  Europe,  that  your  imagination  might 
picture,  as  more  suited  to  your  taste,  do  you  think 
you  would  not  discover  all  the  same  roguery,  the 


RESIDEJ^CE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  191 

same  disinclination  to  good  learning,  and  the  same 
errors  and  vices  that  cling  to  society  wherever  it  is 
formed  upon  the  face  of  this  planet,  and,  1  suppose, 
upon  the  face  of  all  the  myriads  of  globes  that  elude 
the  minutest  research  of  our  modem  astronomers? 
'No,  sir,  you  cannot,  after  a  moment's  reflection,  ex- 
pect any  material  change  upon  the  general  construc- 
tion of  human  society;  nor  do  those  Scriptures  on 
which  I  hope  and  believe  you  depend  for  your  best 
information  with  respect  to  futurity,  give  3'ou  any 
reason  to  look  for  such  changes  on  this  side  of  that 
which  bids  defiance  to,  and  renders  absurd  all  our 
speculations  upon  such  inscrutable  subjects." 

"From  your  youth  you  destined  your  life  to  the 
service  of  religion  and  virtue,  by  preaching  the  ever- 
lasting Gospel,  and  exemplifying  its  precepts  in  your 
dealings  and  conduct  in  society.  Re-enter  into  your 
own  mind,  and  renew  your  covenant  to  preach  that 
Gospel  faitlifully,  and  to  practice  its  piecepis  in  your 
life,  without  perplexing  yourself  with  needless  dis- 
contents concerning  the  crookedness  and  perversity 
of  hum.an  nature.  Who  told  you  that  the  way  was 
wide  and  easily  practised,  that  leads  to  perfection  and 
to  everlasting  felicity?  Only  the  foolish  philoso- 
pher and  the  idle  speculatist  in  politics.  Follow 
rather  Him  who  tells  us  that  the  way  is  narrow  and 
asperous  that  leads  to  life,  and  that  there  be  few  in- 
deed who  find  it.  Seek  you,  therefore,  to  enter  in 
at  that  gate,  and  give  but  an  inattentive  ear  to  anv  of 
the  idle  reasonings  that  draw  us  from  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  Supreme  Beatitude.  Hold  Seneca  in  one 
hand,  and  Saint  Paul  in  the  other;  and  look  up  to 
Heaven  for  direction  and  for  happiness.     You  cannot 


192  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

now  desert  the  charge  which,  in  mature  age,  you 
chose  upon  your  bended  knees,  in  dependence  upon 
the  Divine  blessing,  to  set  forward  the  improvement 
of  a  great  but  infant  state.  Make  a  Palinodium  to  the 
society  you  are  connected  with,  not  to  utter  a  sylla^ 
ble,  in  word  or  in  writing,  to  your  discomfiture,  but 
in  action  for  your  comfort,  which,  notwithstanding 
the  circumstances  you  mention,  will,  I  am  persuaded, 
remove  any  of  the  troubles  you  complain  of,  and 
enable  you  to  be  still  useful  in  the  promotion  of  piety, 
virtue,  and  useful  learning/' 

"  Dedicate  your  leisure  to  the  study  of  nature  and 
its  glorious  Author,  and  fence  yourself  against  the 
various  evils  of  life,  by  that  Divine  philosophy  of  the 
soul,  which  uniting  it  by  grace  to  the  eternal  Foun- 
tain of  wisdom  and  consolation,  will  support  you  un- 
der every  trial,  and  render  the  evening,  and  the  very 
close  of  your  ministry,  and  of  life,  delightful.  In  the 
turbulence  of  society,  you  must  ever  expect  many 
disagreeable  disappointments  and  vexations,  and  eve- 
ry thing  about  you  will  be  subject  to  change,  as  it 
has  been  to  all  mankind  ever  since  the  beginning  of 
the  world.  But  remember  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever.  You  say  you 
have  health,  and  long  may  you  have  it!  I  never 
enjoyed  much  health  from  my  infancy,  and  1  have 
been  unsuccessful  in  all  my  undertakings,  except 
that  of  dedicating  myself,  body  and  soul,  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  in  the  performance  of  his  will  in  bene- 
volence to  his  creatures.  Yet  I  complain  not  of  man- 
kind. I  look  up  to  my  Father  which  is  in  Heaven, 
and  see  nothing  but  his  power  and  his  goodness  in 
the  government  of  the  Universe,  and  look  forward  to 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  193 

the  grave  with  something  more  and  better  than  phi- 
losophic indifference.     Lady   Buchan  joins  me   in 
good  wishes  for  your  health  and  happiness.''     "  I  re- 
main, your  sincere  friend/'  "Buchan." 
"  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet,  <^'c." 

From  the  Same. 

''  Bryhurgh  Abbey,  June  28,  1791." 
"  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir,^' 

"  I  cannot  allow  any  opportunity  of  writing  to  you 
to  pass.  Tliis  will  be  handed  to  you  by  Mr.  Archi- 
bald Robertson,  painter  of  Aberdeen,  whom,  as  re- 
commended to  me  by  my  learned  friend,  Mr.  Pro- 
fessor Ogilvie,  of  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  I  desire 
to  recommend  to  the  honour  and  pleasure  of  your 
countenance  in  America." 

*'I  am  happy  to  think  you  are  now  more  agreeably 
situated  than  formerly:  and  if  you  can  persuade  your- 
self of  what  I  know  to  be  true,  that  Britian  is  not 
worthy  of  the  residence  of  the  friends  of  a  free  con- 
stitution of  government,  you  will  reconcile  yourself 
to  that  of  America,  with  all  the  inconveniences  you 
have  so  justly  depicted." 

"I  have  written,  in  the  21st.  number  of  the  Bee, a 
monitory  paper  on  America,  which  may,  perhaps, 
reach  your  College.  I  beg  leave  to  reccommed 
the  Bee  to  your  attention  and  patronage  in  your 
neighbourhood.  I  hope  you  will  encourage  Rook 
Societies  in  your  town  and  neighbourhood,  and  the 
public  Libraries  will  multiply  apace,  which  will 
disseminate  useful  knowledge." 

"As  Britian  has  been,  since  the  Christmas  of  1783, 
in  a  deep  sleep  of  politics,  I  can  send  you  no  news. 
17 


194  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

AH  around  us  the  voice  of  Freedom  is  heard;  but 
with  us  notliing  is  relished  but  vile  effeminacy  and 
lubricity  of  manners.  So  here,  Doctor,  I  present  you 
with  a  Rowland  for  your  Oliver.  Rest,  and  be 
thankful. 

"Lady  Buchan  joins  me  in  kind  wishes;  and  I 
always  am,  Rev.  and  dear  Principal,  with  great  re- 
gard, your  obedient  humble  servant,'' 

"  Buchan." 
"  Principal  Nisbet, 
Carlisle  College.''^ 

But  of  all  Dr.  Nisbet's  correspondents  in  Great 
Britain,  the  most  persevering  and  punctual  was  the 
venerable  Dr.  Erskine,  of  Kdinburgh,  one  of  the 
most  pious  and  public  spirited  men  of  his  day. 
That  gentleman  probably  maintained  a  more  exten- 
sive correspondence  with  American  clergymen  than 
any  other  European  Divine.  And  probably,  no  pri- 
vate man  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  ever  sent 
so  many  books  gratuitously  to  this  country  as  Dr. 
Erskine.  He  probably  had  twenty  or  thirty  corres- 
pondents in  different  parts  of  the  United  States;  and 
it  is  believed  that  almost  every  letter  he  wrote  was 
accompanied  by  a  package  of  books; — some  of  them 
for  his  correspondents  themselves;  and  others  for  the 
public  libraries  of  Colleges  and  other  institutions,  to 
which  he  was  constantly  remitting  rare  and  curious 
books.  Of  this  he  never  made  any  parade;  as  he  was 
one  of  the  most  modest,  as  well  as  most  pious  of  men . 
But  it  is  a  fact  which  ought  to  be  known  and  remem- 
bered by  the  friends  of  theological  learning  and  li- 
erary  taste  in  the  United  States.     He  was  a  punctual 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  195 

and  affectionate  correspondent  of  the  elder  President 
Edwards,  to  whom  he  sent,  from  time  to  time,  a 
number  of  scarce  and  important  books  no  where  to 
be  found  in  America.  And  after  the  death  of  that 
illustrious  divine,  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  Protest- 
ant world,  he  continued  to  direct  especial  attention 
to  correspondence  with  the  friends  of  religion  in  this 
country,  until  his  death  in  1S03,  about  one  year  be- 
fore the  decease  of  the  subject  of  this  Memoir. 

The  three  following  letters  are  from  his  ever  busy 
and  ready  pen: 

''  Lauriston*  April  2\,  1789" 
''Rev.  and  dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  have  before  me  your  letters  of  September  16th, 
and  December  29tb,  1788.  It  has  been  an  exciting 
and  remarkable  time  in  Britain  since  the  beginning 
of  November.  On  the  5th  of  that  month,  by  ap- 
pointment of  the  last  Genral  Assembly,  a  Thanks- 
giving was  observed  through  Scotland,  for  the  Re- 
volution in  1688.  Most,  or  rather  all  of  your  old 
friends  were  hearty  in  the  measuie:  as  was  Dr.  Blair, 
on  the  other  side,  and  many  more.  But  my  col- 
leaguet  was,  throughout,  cold,  or  rather  unfriendly 
to  the  scheme,  perhaps  from  the  fear  that  on  such  an 
occasion,  whig  principles  would  be  zealously  incul- 
cated. In  fact  they  were  so  by  INlr.  Kemp,  Mr. 
Jones,  and  several  others  in  our  Presbytery.     Your 

*  Dr.  Erskine's  residence  was  in  Edinburgh;  Lauriston  was  a  little 
rural  retreat  near  the  city. 

I  His  colleague  was  the  celebrated  Dr.  William  Robertson,  the  his- 
torian, and  Principal  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 


196  MEMOIR    OV    DR.    NlSBETf. 

friendj  chiefly  considered  the  evils  of  Popery,  the 
imminent  danger  of  these  evils,  and  the  remarkable 
deliverance.  My  colleague,  Mr.  Greenfield,  and 
some  others,  chiefly  considered  the  influence  of  the 
Revolution  in  promoting  just  ideas  of  liberty,  and  in 
extending  liberality  of  sentiment.  And  this  has 
been  much  the  tone  of  the  printed  sermons  on  this 
occasion.  None  of  them,  except  Mr.  Pedie's,  who 
succeeded  Mr.  Pattison,  pleased  my  taste." 

"  The  joys  of  Nov.  5th,  were  soon  turned  into 
sorrow,  by  the  king's  dangerous  illness.  Seldom 
were  more  general  and  sincere  prayers  put  up  for  the 
recovery  of  a  Prince.  This  was  occasioned,  not  only 
by  fears  of  the  unsettled  government  which  often 
happens  under  a  Regency,  but  by  the  virtuous  pri- 
vate character  of  the  king  and  queen,  and  the  king's 
late  proclamation  against  Sabbath  breaking;  the  gen- 
eral approbation  of  the  measures  of  Mr,  Pitt;  the 
danger  apprehended  by  some,  lest  a  new  administra- 
tion might  not  have  pursued  his  plans  with  regard  to 
foreign  alliances,  and  the  reduction  of  the  national 
debt;  to  which  I  might  add,  a  growing  conviction 
that  the  American  war  was  occasiond  by  inform- 
ation, false  indeed,  but  which  it  was  natural  for 
the  king  and  ministry  to  credit.  No  good  change 
was  expected  by  a  Regency,  unless,  perhaps,  in  Scot- 
land, where  my  friend  Mr.  H.  E.  would  probably 
have  succeeded  Mr.  H.  D.  whose  high  talents  are  so 
much  obscured  by  his  habits  and  manners." 

"  Church  aff'airs  here,  as  well  as  civil,  would  have 
probably    fallen  into  better  hands.     But   we   could 

4  Meaning  himself. 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  197 

hardly   hope  that   the   great    affairs    of   the   British 
Empire  would  be  better  conducted.     Fears  were  in- 
creased by  a  belief   that   the    Duke  of  Portland,  and 
Mr.    Fox   had  less  of  the  Prince  of  Wales's  ear,  for 
some  time  past,  than   Mr.   Sheridan.     But  the  anx- 
iety of  disinterested  friends  of  the  public,  and  their 
deep  concern  on  account  of  the   king's   illness  was 
soon    ended  by  a   recovery   next  to    miraculous,  for 
which  last  Thursday  was  observed  as  a  day  of  Thanks- 
giving.    My  subject  on    that  da}^,  was  the  improve- 
ment we  ought  to  make  of  Gods  changing  the  times 
and  seasons.     I  herewith   send  you  a  few  books.     I 
commit   them  to  your   discretion,  excepting    that  I 
do   not  wish  the   work  of  Clodius  to  be  put  into  a 
public  library.     He  is  half  way  over  to  the  German 
*  Rationalists,'  as  they  call  themselves." 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir," 

"  Yours,  affectionately," 

"John  Erskine." 
"  Bev.  Dr.  Nisbet:' 

From  the  same. 

"  Lauriston,  Jan.  25,  17.91." 
"  Bear  Sir,'' 

"  I  sent  you,  on  the  21st  of  July,  my  ^  Hints  and 
Sketches  of  Church  History'  and  two  or  three  other 
books,  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Campbell,  of  New-York. 
I  have  since  received  yours  of  June,  1790,  and  thank 
you  sincerely  for  so  long  and  entertaining  a  letterj  to 
one  who  only  sends  you  scraps.  The  magistrates  of 
Edinburgh,  returning  to  the  plan  of  presenting,  are 
likely  in  time  to  fill  our  vacant  pulpits,  so  as  to  empty 
our  Churches  of  many  of  the  most  sound,  serious  and 
17* 


198  MEMOIR    Oy    DR.    NISBET. 

judicious  Christians.  Our  last  vacancy  is  supplied 
by  Mr.  Finlayson,  Professor  of  Logick,  who  is  surely 
an  adept  in  that  science,  if  bold  assertions,  ill  natured 
inuendoes,  and  unbecoming  levity  may  pass  for  argu- 
ment. Dr.  Henry  died  two  months  ago;  and,  it  is 
said,  has  left  another  volume  of  his  History  nearly 
ready  for  the  press.     He  was  a  bold,  able  and  honest 

man.     Provost  S.  intended  Mr.  R — r — .  of  D . 

as  his  successor;  in  gratitude  for  the  attention  he  paid 
to  his  son's  education.  But,  though  Mr.  R— —  has 
considerable  abilities,  especially  as  one  acquainted 
with  the  fine  arts, — people  have  in  general  thought 
so  lowly  of  his  pulpit  and  theological  talents,  that 
Provost  S —  very  wisely  gave  it  up,  and  Mr.  S.  of 
L.  came  to  Edinburgh;  one  of  the  same  sentiments 
as  to  Church  policy,  but  less  violent,  and  a  much  su- 
perior preacher.  Mr.  S —  of  L —  died  suddenly  on 
a  scaffold,  where  he  was  accompanying  his  daughter 
to  see. the  last  races.  He  was  one  of  a  decent  minis- 
terial behaviour,  and  of  sound  sentiments;  but  of 
second  rate  abilities;  and  his  usefulness  was  much 
impaired  by  his  being  often  held  in  leading  strings 
by  men  more  crafty  than  himself.  The  Session  and 
Corporation  of  L.  have  been  prevailed  upon  to  elect 
for  the  second  charge  Mr.  T.  M — ,  son  of  Dr.  M — , 
through  fear  that,  otherwise,  Mr.  D —  would  not  get 
the  presentation  to  the  first  charge.  Mr.  M.  thinks 
Calvinism  the  only  rational  and  consistent  scheme  of 
Christianity.  He  will  make  a  more  eloquent,  though, 
perhaps,  less  plain  preacher  than  Mr.  S — .  His  style 
and  manner  are  as  animated  as  his  father's  are  dull. 
The  father  would  be  the  better  of  the  son's  polish; 
|ind  the  son  would  not  be  the  worse  for  studying 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  199 

scripture  as  critically  as  his  father  does.  We  made 
a  great  acquisition,  two  years  ago,  by  Mr.  B —  of 
S —  succeeding  Dr.  M—  in  the  Cannongate.  Mr, 
S  —  of  W — y  an  excellent  and  able  man,  has  gone  to 
S— .'^ 

"  My  ^  Sketches  '  have  been  favourably  received 
by  those  who  attend  to  Theology  and  Church  His- 
tory, unless  a  certain  party,  through  whose  influence, 
perhaps,  no  account  of  them  has  yet  appeared  either 
in  the  monthly  or  Critical  Reviews.  I  have  consi- 
derable materials  collected  for  a  second  volume,  but 
have  not  yet  advanced  far  in  reducing  them  to  order, 
and  preparing  them  for  the  press.^^ 

"  I  now  send  you,  to  Mr.  Campbell's  care,  a  pack- 
age of  books,  which  I  hope  you  will  receive  in 
safety/' 

^'  I  am,  dear  sir,  yours,  affectionately," 

*'  John  Erskine." 
^'  Bev.  Dr.  Nisbet:' 

From  the  same. 

'^  Lauriston,  October  2Qth,  1791.'' 
"  Dear  Sir;' 

"  I  hope  you  received  my  parcel  of  July  26th.  I 
have  had  no  letter  from  you  since.  Much  about  the 
time  of  my  writing  you,  worthy  Mr.  Grant,  of  Ochil- 
tree, died.  The  pious  Patroness,  Lady  Glenorchy, 
applied,  as  formerly,  to  Dr.  H —  and  me  for  advice 
as  to  filling  the  vacancy.  If  I  had  been  sole  in  the 
nomination,  I  should  certainly  have  recommended 

Mr.  R ,  of  K ,  Mr.  C ^  or  some  other, 

whose  good  behaviour  in  a  Chapel  of  Ease,  or  in  a 
charge  in  the  establishment,  where  a  good  successor 


200  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

was  probable,  merited  that  distinction.  But  it  was 
necessary  we  should  recommend  persons  known  to 
us  both;  and  it  would  have  had  a  bad  appearance  if 
those  who  had  studied  under  Dr.  H —  had  been  over- 
looked. On  that  account,  we  recommended  Messrs. 
T —  and  L — ,  as  the  two  most  proper  persons  for 
that  parish,  in  the  opinion  of  both  of  us.  I  wished 
the  success  of  the  last,  as  the  most  learned  and  zeal- 
ous; but  I  believe  the  best  ministers  in  the  city  and 
suburbs  differed  from  me,  as  they  considered  the  first 
as  more  prudent.  The  three  last  ministers  who  have 
come  to  Edinburgh  are  Dr.  G — ,  Mr.  F — ,  and  Mr. 
S — .  Mr.  M.  Junior,  who  succeeded  Mr.  0 — ,  of  L. 
six  months  ago,  preached  an  able  sermon  on  the  ad- 
mission of  Mr.  S —  two  v/eeks  ago.  I  think  my 
colleague  (Principal  Robertson)  preaches  with  as 
much  distinctness  and  vigour  as  ever,  though  his 
deafness  much  deprives  him  of  the  pleasures  of  so- 
ciety. Mr.  McCulloch,  of  Dairsie,  has  published 
Lectures  on  the  first  twelve  chapters  of  the  Pro- 
phecy of  Isaiah,  in  one  octavo  volume.  If  this  vo- 
lume succeeds,  he  intends  to  continue  his  Lectures 
on  the  rest  of  the  Book.  They  contain  no  new  cri- 
ticisms, or  ctug7neniiim  scieniiariim;  but  I  hope 
will  be  useful  to  ordinary  readers.  I  hear^that  Whi- 
taker,  the  author  of  a  "  History  of  Manchester,'^ 
sometime  since  published,  has  just  published  a  "  His- 
tory of  Arianism." 

"The  Birmingham  riots  show  the  strange  blind 
zeal,  not  only  of  those  engaged  in  the  horrible  scenes, 
but  of  many  Church-of-England  divines,  and  some 
Dissenters,  who  have  treated  these  outrages  in  too 
tender  a  manner,  and  without  proper  expressions 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  201 

of  detestation.  Carnal  weapons  are  not  the  proper 
means  to  bring  every  thought  into  captivity  to  the 
obedience  of  Christ.'^ 

"  I  was  remarkably  free  from  colds  last  winter;  but 
in  May  and  part  of  June  I  have  been  distressed  with 
rheumatic  pains.  Since  these  subsided,  I  have  been 
troubled  with  bowel  and  stomach  complaints.  They 
have  not,  however,  hindered  my  preaching  regu- 
larly." 

"  I  have  tlie  pleasure  of  sending  herewith  a  pack- 
age of  books;  particularly  some  new  works  from 
Germany,  which  I  Jiope  will  be  interesting  to  you, 
both  on  the  score  of  instruction  and  entertainment." 

"  My  wife  and  daughters,  and  my  son  David,  join 
in  offering  to  you  and  Mrs.  Nisbet,  and  all  your 
family,  our  best  wishes." 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  yours,  sincerely," 

"  John  EpxSkine." 
"  JRev.  Dr.  Nisbet.'' 

That  Dr.  Nisbet  enjoyed  the  affectionate  friend- 
ship of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Beattie,  of  Aberdeen,  was 
mentioned  in  a  preceding  chapter.  This  friendship 
did  not  terminate  with  Dr.  Nisbet's  departure  from 
Britain.  As  a  specimen  of  their  correspondence,  the 
following  letters,  it  is  presumed,  will  not  be  uninter- 
esting to  the  reader, 

''Aberdeen,  lOth  August,  1788.-  Sunday. '\ 
"  Dear  Sir," 

"  I  wish  it  were  in  my  power  to  show  any  civili- 
ties to  Mrs.  Craig,  or  to  any  person  recommended 
b.^  you.     But  in  the  present  case  I  am  deprived  of 


202  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

the  pleasure  of  doing  so,  by  the  lady's  resolution 
of  setting  out  immediately  on  her  return  to  Ame- 
rica. She  arrived  here  at  a  time  when  I  was  from 
home;  and  I  never  heard  of  her  till  yesterday,  when 
she  did  me  the  honour  to  call  upon  me,  and  inform  me, 
to  my  very  great  regret,  that  finding  things  here  not 
exactly  as  she  wished  and  expected,  she  was  to  set 
out  with  her  child  on  Monday  morning  early  in  the 
Fly  for  Edinburgh,  and  thence  make  all  haste  to 
Greenock,  as  the  ship  in  which  she  intended  to  be  a 
passenger  would  sail  about  the  middle  of  this  month. 
Thus  I  am  deprived  of  the  means  of  cultivating  her 
acquaintance,  from  which  I  am  sure  1  should  have 
derived  great  satisfaction.*^ 

"  Your  letter  is  a  very  short  one,  but  I  thank  you 
for  it.  The  sight  of  your  hand-writing  recals  a  thou- 
sand agreeable  circumstances  to  my  memory.  Your 
departure  for  America  gave  me  concern,  and  was  in- 
deed a  disappointment;  for  a  few  days  before  you 
went,  you  informed  me  b}^  letter,  that  you  would 
not  go.  I  am  happ}^  to  hear  that  your  health  is  bet- 
ter, and  that  things  are  so  well  with  you.  Mrs. 
Craig  informs  me,  to  my  great  joy,  that  at  Philadel- 
phia there  is  peace  and  opulence,  and  every  appear- 
ance of  public  prosperity.  The  country  you  are  now 
in  has  great  resources,  and  I  hope  they  shall,  and 
heartily  wish  they  may,  be  rightlj'  improved.'' 

"  When  you  have  leisure,  you  would  do  me  a  great 
favour  by  giving  me  some  account  of  your  schools 
and  colleges,  the  state  of  literature  and  your  methods 
of  education.  From  this  country  I  can  send  you 
nothing  new;  but  every  thing  will  be  so  to  me  which 
you  are  so  good  as  to  send  me  from  yours.     I  re- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  203 

member  nothing  particular  that  has  happened  of  late 
to  any  of  the  friends  you  left  behind  you.  My  bro- 
ther-in-law and  sister,  and  what  remains  of  their 
family,  are  well.  You  would  hear  of  poor  James 
Valentine's  fate;  he  perished  in  a  hurricane  off  Ja- 
maica the  very  day  on  which  he  was  promoted  to  the 
command  of  a  ship.  His  brother  has  not  been  so 
fortunate  as  we  could  have  wished,  or  as  his  great 
abilities  in  his  profession  seemed  to  deserve;  howev- 
er he  is  pretty  well,  and  commands  a  vessel  that 
goes  alternately  to  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Baltic. 
His  sister  commonly  lives  with  me;  but  is  just  now, 
with  my  boy  Montagu,  on  a  visit  to  her  father  and 
mother  at  Montrose.  My  elder  son  was  last  year 
appointed  my  assistant  and  successor.  It  was  what 
he  wished  himself,  and  it  is  an  ollice  for  which  he  is 
eminently  well  qualified.  The  King  presented  him 
to  it,  upon  the  unanimous  recommendation  of  the 
college.  I  mention  these  particulars  relating  to  my 
family  in  order  to  stimulate  3'ou  to  give  me  intelli- 
gence equally  minute  with  regard  to  yours;  for  I  am 
greatly  interested  in  their  welfare,  and  beg  leave  to 
offer  my  compliments  and  best  wishes  to  them  all. 
Our  old  friend,  Charles  Keith,  is  settled  as  a  physician 
at  Morpath,  and  does  very  well.  I  passed  two  days 
with  him  last  year.  Thomson  is  semper  idem,  that 
is  to  say,  worse  and  worse;  he  drinks  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, and  does  nothing  else.  David  Walker,  I  am 
sorry  to  hear,  has  stopped  payments.'^ 

"If  you  have. a  corivenient  opportunity,  I  would 
trouble  you  to  present  my  humble  service  to  that 
venerable  and  wonderful  man.  Dr.  Franklin,  to  whom 
I  had  the  honour  to  be  known  about  seventeen  years 


204  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISfiEt. 

ago  in  London;  to  our  Reverend  friend  Dr.  Wither- 
spoon,  and  to  Dr.  Rush,  Professor  of  Chemistry  at 
Philadelphia,  to  whom  I  am  under  great  obligations." 

"Adieu,  my  dear  sir.  It  is  not  likely  that  you 
and  I  shall  meet  any  more  in  this  world;  but  let  us 
write  to  one  another  sometimes,  and  think  of  one 
another  often." 

"  Most  faithfully  and  affectionately,  yours," 

"J.  Beattie." 
"  The  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet.'' 

P.  S.  "This  has  been  the  finest  summer  I  ever 
remember  to  have  seen;  and  all  over  Great  Britain 
there  is  every  appearance  of  an  early  and  most  plen- 
tiful harvest." 

From  the  same. 

"  Peterhead,  July  2d,  1792." 
"  Dear  Sir,'' 

"I  cannot  tell  you  how  much  I  am  gratified  by 
your  very  kind  remembrance  of  me,  and  how  much 
I  have  been  entertained  by  your  two  excellent  let- 
ters. Be  assured,  that  though  a-  dilatory  writer,  I 
am  not  conscious  of  any  diminution  in  my  affection 
for  you;  that  I  often  think  of  you:  and  that  when  I 
meet  with  any  of  our  common  friends,  I  often  speak 
of  you  in  terms  which  you  would  not  dislike.  For 
reasons  that  will  occur  to  yourself,  I  cannot  give  a 
particular  detail  of  the  reflections  suggested  by  the 
very  interesting  information  with  wiiich  you  have 
favoured  me.  I  shall  only  say,  that  it  coincides,  ex- 
actly with  the  conjectures  I  had  formed,  and  the  in- 
telligence I  have  received  from  some  others;    and 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  205 

that  my  principles  on  the  subjects  in  question,  are 
the  same  with  yours. '^ 

"  You  are  pleased  to  speak  favourably  of  the  first 
volume  of  the  'Elements  of  Moral  Science.'  The 
second  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  printer.  1  will 
endeavour  to  send  you  both.  What  I  have  said  in 
the  second  on  Slavery,  and  on  the  principles  of  Po- 
litics, will  not  please  every  body;  but  I  have  honest- 
ly given  the  sentiments  which  I  have  been  teaching 
and  pondering  for  thirty  years  and  upwards;  and 
they  are  sentiments  in  which,  the  more  I  see  and 
hear  of  this  changeable  world,  the  more  I  am  con- 
firmed." 

"  I  need  not  give  you  any  of  the  public  news  of 
this  country:  you  will  see  all  that  in  the  newspapers. 
Our  national  prosperity  is,  just  now,  greater  than  I 
have  ever  known  it:  and  nothing  is  wanting  to  make 
us  a  very  happy  people,  but  a  right  sense  of  that 
prosperity,  and  gratitude  to  that  good  Providence 
which  bestows  it.  But  we  are  evil  and  unthankful; 
and  too  many  of  us  are  not  only  discontented,  but 
turbulent.  Both  in  religion  and  in  politics,  we  are 
pestered  with  foolish  theories;  the  effect  of  levity 
and  ignorance.  If  we  could  read  more  Greek  and 
Latin,  and  less  French;  more  histories,  and  fewer 
novels;  and  if  we  could  speak  less,  and  think  more, 
it  would  be  a  good  thing  for  us.  The  theories  of 
the  present  time  often  put  me  in  mind  of  that  old 
sophist,  (you  will  remember  his  name,  though  I  do 
not)  who  took  it  upon  him  to  give  Hannibal  a  lec- 
ture on  the  military  art.  The  harangue  was  much 
admired  by  the  author,  and  by  such  of  his  audience 
as  knew  nothing  of  practical  tactics.  The  Cartha- 
18 


206  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 


ginian,  however,  bluntly  said,  that  he  never  before 
had  met  with  a  blockhead  so  ignorant,  and  so  con- 
ceited." 

"  You  will  be  glad  to  hear  that  my  sister,  and  her 
son  and  daughter  are  in  their  usual  health.  My  bro- 
ther-in-law, now  in  his  S6th  year,  though. he  has  been 
confined  to  bed  these  five  years,  eats  well,  and  sleeps 
well,  and  is  perfectly  easy,  contented  and  happy. 
Socinianism    flourishes   mightily    at  Montrose;    the 

,   who  are    all  become  authors,   are    the    great 

apostles  of  that  church.      Our  old  friend died 

last  winter  of  a  iever.  His  son,  who  is  in  a  very 
thriving  way,  offered  to  supply  him  with  as  much 
gin  and  porter  as  he  could  swallow;  but  the  heroic 
Charles  wandered  from  alehouse  to  alehouse,  and 
tippled  to  the  end  of  the  chapter." 

*'  Of  myself,  I  have  nothing  good  to  say.  That 
old  vertigo  of  my  head  (as  you  have  often  told  me) 
will  never  leave  me  until  I  am  dead.  But  I  have  so 
many  other  complaints  that  I  cannot  expect  to  be 
long  here.  About  eighteen  months  ago,  I  was  visi- 
ted with  an  afHiction,  which,  though  I  am  entirely 
resigned  to  the  will  of  Providence,  has  broken  my 
heart.  My  son  (whom  you  will  remember)  died  at 
that  time,  of  a  consumption.  His  illness  lasted  a 
year,  during  which  time  I  was  always  with  him.  He 
had  every  advantage  that  could  be  derived  from  aflfec- 
tionate  attendants  and  able  physicians,  and  every 
thing  was  procured  for  him  that  the  faculty  recom- 
mended ;  but  all  was  vain .  The  king  appointed  him 
my  assistant  in  the  College  five  years  ago;  and  an 
able  assistant  he  was.  Indeed,  to  all  who  were  well 
acquainted  with  him,  he  was  the  object  of  admiration 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  207 

and  delight.  The  inscription  which  I  wrote  for  his 
tombstone  contains  his  character  in  brief;  and  I  as- 
sure you  without  any  exaggeration.  It  is  in  these 
words: — 

Jacobo  Hat  Beattie,  Jacobi  filio: 

Philosoph.  in  Acad.  Marischal  Professori. 

Adolescent! 

Ea  modestia, 

Ea  suavitate  morum, 

Ea  benevolentia  erga  omnes, 

Ut  humanum  nihil  supra. 

In  bonis  Uteris, 

In  Theologia, 

In  omne  Philosophia, 

Exercilatissimo. 

Poetae  insuper, 

Rebus  in  levioribus  faceto, 

In  grandioribus  sublime. 

Qui  placidam  animam  efflavit 

XIXNovemb:  MDCCXC: 

Annos  habens  XXII,  diesque  XIII. 

Pater  moerens  hoc  marmor  posuit. 

^'  I  have  collected  and  arranged  as  many  of  his  pa- 
pers as  will  justify  every  particular  of  this  character; 
and  intend,  for  the  use  of  my  friends,  to  print  sixty 
or  a  hundred  copies,  one  of  which  will  be  sent  to 
you.  It  will  be  either  one  pretty  large  volume,  or 
two  small  ones;  and,  if  I  live,  will  be  put  to  the  press 
next  winter.  .  The  epitaph  touches  upon  the  more 
important  parts  only  of  his  character;  but  I  will  take 
the  liberty  to  inform  you  further,  that  he  was  an  able 
chemist,  botanist,  anatomist,  profoundly  skilled  in 
the  theory  of  music,  an  excellent  performer  on  the 
violin  and  organ,  an  elegant  drawer,  a  master  of 
Greek  and  Latin,  a  proficient  in  the  French  tongue, 


208  MEMOIR  or  DR.  NISEET. 

an  admirable  public  speaker,  expert  in  fishing,  fow- 
ling and  fencing,  and  such  a  mechanic,  that,  two 
years  before  his  death,  he  superintended  the  building 
of  a  very  good  organ  for  himself.  In  wit  and  hu- 
mour he  was  not  inferior  to  you;  and  though  his 
piety,  modesty  and  delicacy  were  exemplary;  he  re- 
tained, even  when  he  came  to  be  a  man,  all  the  cheer- 
fulness and  playfulness  of  a  boy.  His  poems  are 
partly  English  and  partly  Latin;  for  he  composed 
with  equal  ease  in  both  languages.  He  foresaw  his 
death  long  before  it  came,  and  met  it  with  true  Chris- 
tian meekness  and  resignation.  All  this  may  seem 
extraoi'dinary;  but  it  is  all  literally  true,  as  many 
persons  now  alive  can  testify." 

''  I  send  this  under  cover  to  my  friend,  the  Bishop 
of  London,  who  will  frank  it  as  far  as  his  privilege 
extends,  that  is,  I  suppose,  to  Falmouth." 

*'  With  best  wishes  to  Mrs.  Nisbet  and  your  fami- 
ly, I  ever  am,  dear  sir,  your  affectionate  humble 
servant,  J.  Beattie." 

*'  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet, 

Principal  of  Carlisle  College,  Pennsylvania.''^ 

In  the  year  1790,  Dr.  Nisbet's  eldest  daughter, 
Mary,  was  married  to  William  Turnbull,  Esquire, 
a  native  of  Scotland,  who  had  been  for  a  number  of 
years  a  respectable  merchant  of  Philadelphia;  at  that 
time  resident  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh.  This  proved 
a  happy  marriage.  And  although  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  up  to  this  time,  and  even  several  years  after- 
wards, continued  to  be  importuned  by  some  of  his 
friends  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  to  return  to 
Scotland,  as  will  be  se^n  by  letters   to  !pe  hereaftesj 


RESIDENCE    IN    THE    UNITLD    STATES.  209 

introduced;  yet  his  advancing  age;  his  almost  invin- 
cible aversion  to  a  sea  voyage;  and  the  happy  settle- 
ment of  his  daughter  in  this  country;  concurred  with 
a  variety  of  other  circumstances  to  bind  him  to  the 
United  States,  and  to  render  him  less  and  less  dispo- 
sed to  withdraw  from  the  important  station  to  which 
he  had  been  called.  He  saw,  too,  that  while  the 
American  Union  was  agitated  by  party  violence,  and 
by  what  he  deemed  unwise  govermental  measures; 
his  native  country,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  civilized 
world,  were  agitated  in  a  similar  manner,  and  by 
similar  means.  There  was  little  hope,  then,  of  bet- 
tering his  situation  by  returning  to  the  old  world* 
At  the  same  time,  the  ties  which  bound  him  to  the 
new,  were  becoming,  every  day,  more  strong  and 
more  interesting." 


18^ 


5.10  MEMOIR  OF  DIl.  NISBET. 


CHAPTER  VL 

His  residence  in  the  United  States  continued'. 

It  was  in  the  Autumn  of  the  year  1791,  that  the 
acquaintance  of  the  author  of  this  Memoir  with  the 
venerable  subject  of  it  commenced.  The  author 
had,  anterior  to  this,  pursued  his  Theological  studies 
under  the  direction  of  a  beloved  and  venerated  Pa- 
rent, near  Dover  in  Delaware,  his  native  place.  On 
the  decease  of  that  parent,  who  had  been  the  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Dover  for  nearly  half 
a  century,  and  after  having  received  license  to  preach 
the  Gospel,  he  determined  to  avail  himself,  for  at 
least  a  {^\^  months,  of  the  conversation  and  guidance 
of  the  distinguished  man,  whose  learning,  and  whose 
course  of  Theological  Lectures,  had  received  so  larg& 
a  share  of  public  approbation.  For  this  purpose,  in 
tlie  month  of  November,  of  the  year  above  mention- 
ed, he  repaired  to  Carlisle,  and  found  Dr.  Nisbet  in 
good  health  and  spirits,  and  busily  engaged  in  his- 
labours  as  the  Head  of  Dickinson  College,  the  winter 
session  of  which  had,  a  ^qw  weeks  before,  commen- 
ced 

He  had  never  until  then  seen  the  eminent  man 
whose  instruction  he  sought.  Pie  expected  to  find 
80  much  learning  connected  with  reserved  and  formal,, 
if  not  repulsive  manners;  but  was  agreeably  surprised 
to  find  \^x.  Nisbet  as  affable,  as  easy  of  access,  as  sim- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  211 

pie  and  imostentatious  in  his  manners,  and  as  attrac- 
tive in  all  the  inlercotirse  of  social  life,  as  any  man  he 
had  ever  seen.  He  received  the  inexperienced  young 
Licentiate,  with  all  the  condescensioa  and  kindness 
of  a  parent;  and  after  the  first  hour,  placed  him  as 
much  at  his  ease,  as  if  he  had  been  hanging  on  the 
lips  of  that  parent  according  to.  the  flesh,  whose  loss 
he  had  recently  been  called  to  mourn. 

Such  were  the  habits  and  manners  of  this  venera- 
We  man,  and  also  of  his  amiable  family,  that  the 
writer,  from  the  first  day  of  his  arrival  in  Carlisle, 
felt  himself  at  honve  in  his  presence.  His  practice, 
in  ordinary  cases,  was  regularly,  every  evening,  to 
sit  with  him  in  his  domestic  circle  two  or  three 
hours.  And  on  whatever  subject  he  might  desire 
information,  whether  in  Theology  or  Literature, 
ancieat  or  modern,  he  had  but  to  propose  the  topic, 
and  suggest  queries,  to  draw  forth  every  thing  that 
he  wished.  Nor  were  Dr.  Nisbet's  instructive  com- 
munications of  that  declaiming  or  preaching  kind 
which  some  learned  men  are  fond  of  exhibiting,  but 
which  can  scarcely  with  propriet}^  be  called  "conver- 
sation," since  they  are  all  on  on^e  side.  They  pre- 
sented a  constant  flow  of  rich  amusement  and  infor- 
mation, and  yet  so  entirely  free  from  ostentation, 
dogmatism,  or  pedantry,  that  every  listener,  was  at 
once  instructed,  entertained  and  gratified.  Prob- 
ably no  man  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  ever  brought 
into  the  social  circle,  such  diversified  and  ample 
stores  of  erudition; — such  an  extraordinary  know- 
ledge of  men,  and  books,  and  opinions;  such  an  ama- 
zing fund  of  rare  and  racy  anecdotes;  and  all  poured 
9U.t  with  so  much   unstudied   simplicity;  with  such 


212  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISBET. 

constant  flashes  of  wit  and  humour;  and  with  such  a 
peculiar  mixture  of  satire  and  good  nature,  as  kept 
every  company  whether  youni;;  or  old  hanging  upon 
his  lips,  and  doing  constant  homage  to  his  wonderful 
acquirements. 

Sometimes,  when  in  the  midst  of  these  delightful 
effusions,  a  new  visitor  would  step  in,  and  introduce 
a  new  topic  of  discourse,  it  was  wonderful  with  what 
facility  he  could  change  the  train  of  conversation; 
strike  upon  a  new  and  rich  vein  of  thought;  and  ex- 
cite new  and  endless  surprise  by  his  intellectual  re- 
sources. And  if  any  member  of  th^  circle  attempted 
to  enter  the  lists  with  him  as  a  competitor  in  either 
wit  or  learning,  as  was  sometimes  the  case  with  those 
who  did  not  "  know  their  man,"  he  soon  manifested, 
with  perfect  good  humour,  with  what  entire  ease 
he  could  distance  every  one  on  either  track.  Of 
scenes  of  this  kind,  the  writer  of  this  Memoir  has 
been  so  often  a  witness,  that  he  cannot  call  them  to 
mind  at  the  present  hour  without  mixed  feelings  of 
surprise  and  admiration. 

He  was  led,  too,  in  consequence  of  the  strong  im- 
pressions then  made  by  the  instructions  of  the  living 
teacher,  to  doubt  whether  the  popular  estimate  of  the 
means  of  knowledge  anterior  to  the  discovery  of  the 
Art  of  Printing,  is  not,  in  some  measure,  both  inade- 
quate and  incorrect.  There  were  then,  indeed,  few 
books.  Their  scarcity  and  costliness  rendered  them 
wholly  inaccessible  to  any  but  the  wealthy  and  the 
powerful.  However  eager  a  poor  man^s  desire  for 
knowledge,  he  could  very  seldom  obtain  it  by  read- 
inv;.  We  are,  perhaps,  sometimes  ready  to  carry 
our  pity  for  them  on  this  score  to  an  extreme.  They 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  213 

were,  indeed,  destitute  of  a  privilege  of  immense 
importance.  But  the  multiplication  of  books  has  its 
drawbacks  as  well  as  its  advantages.  They  had  an- 
other source  of  instruction  in  some  respects  superior 
to  that  which  we  now  enjoy.  They  were  in  the 
constant  habit  of  travelling  to  different  and  distant 
parts  of  the  world,  as  far  as  they  were  able;  and  of 
conversing  and  disputing  with  the  greatest  and  most 
learned  men  wherever  they  went.  Thus  the  ancient 
Greeks  and  Romans,  anterior  to  the  advent  of  the 
Saviour,  pursued  knowledge.  Thus  Roger  Bacon, 
John  Duns  Scotus,  and  many  of  the  most  profound 
men  of  the  middle  and  subsequent  ages,  constantly 
sought  to  strengthen  and  furnish  their  minds.  They 
went  to  different  Universities,  residing  several  years 
in  each,  for  the  purpose  of  free,  unreserved  personal 
intercourse  with  the  great  men  in  each;  that  they 
might  not  only  gain  the  know^ledge  which  these  men 
possessed,  and  were  ready  to  impart;  but  that  they 
might,  by  the  literary  and  scientific  conflicts,  in  other 
words,  by  the  intellectual  pugilism,  then  fashionable, 
acquire  a  wakefulness,  an  adroitness,  and  a  vigour  of 
mental  action  which  unceasing  oral  disputation  is  pe- 
culiarly adapted  to  nurture.  It  is  not  intended  in 
these  remarks,  as  all  will  understand,  to  undervalue 
books.  They  are  a  gift  of  inestimable  value.  But  it  is 
intended  to  estimate  more  highly  than  many  seem  in- 
clined to  do,  personal  communications  and  conflicts; 
and  to  represent  tiie  latter  source  of  instruction  as  pre- 
ferable, on  some  accounts,  to  books.  The  knowledge 
acquired  by  unlimited  reading,  may  be  more  exten- 
sive; but  that  which  is  gained  by  conversation,  and  es- 
pecially by  unreserved  discussion  and  oral  controver- 


214  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

sy  with  superior  minds,  will  generally  be  found  to  have 
about  it  a  life,  a  distinctness,  a  clearness,  and  an  adhe- 
sion to  the  mind,  which  do  not  ordinarily  appear  in  an 
equal  degree  in  the  mere  devoiirer  of  books.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  the  writer  of  this  Memoir,  when  he  left  Car- 
lisle, in  the  spring  of  1792,  carried  with  him  a  deeper 
impression  than  he  ever  had  before,  of  the  immense 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  coming  into  contact 
daily  with  an  acute,  active  and  richly  furnished  mind, 
from  which,  as  much  might  be  learned  in  one  hour, 
(especially  on  subjects  concerning  which  books  rare 
and  difficult  of  access,  are  the  only  sources  of  in- 
struction from  reading,)  as  from  the  private  study 
of  a  week.  He  left  it  also  with  no  small  regret 
that  he  had  not  derived  from  the  enjoyment  of 
this  privilege  more  ample  benefit;  and  a  conviction, 
that  if  he  had  been  more  aware  of  its  value  at  the 
time,  and  more  awake  to  its  importance,  it  might 
have  been  made  far  more  productive  of  fruit  than  it 
was.  Alas!  it  was  with  him,  as  with  most  others, 
that  the  most  precious  advanta|j;es  are  seldom  ade- 
quately appreciated  until  the  possession  of  them  is 
withdrawn. 

Happy  are  they,  who,  sensible  of  the  defects  of  an 
intellectual  culture  formed  by  mere  reading,  habitu- 
ate themselves  to  the  mingling  of  reading  with  close 
thought;  to  independent  inquiry;  to  impartial  can- 
vassing and  sifting  of  the  opinions  proposed  in  books; 
to  pausing,  and  comparing  book  with  book;  and,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  the  conversation  of  sound  and  strong 
minds,  accustomed  to  think,  and  disdaining  to  walk 
in  trammels.  Without  these  adjuncts  to  reading, 
there  is  little  hope  of  forming  that  robust  mental 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  215 

structure;  that  intellectual  promptness,  vigour,  and  ac- 
tivity which  so  eminently  characterized  men  formed 
in  the  middle  ages,  by  travel,  by  oi-al  communication, 
and  by  personal  conflict. 

The  compiler  of  this  volume  has  never  seen  a  man 
so  well  adapted  to  benefit  those  around  him,  in  these 
respects,  as  Dr.  Nisbet.  The  rapidity  and  force  of 
his  mind  in  conversation;  the  pre-eminent  richness 
of  his  mental  furniture;  his  vivacity;  his  wit;  his  in- 
exhaustible stare  of  striking  anecdotes,  and  of  happy 
classical  allusions,  rendered  him  at  all  times  a  most 
instructive  and  entertaining  companion;  and  served 
more  indelibly  to  impress  upon  the  mind  what  canie 
from  his  lips  than  from  those  of  almost  any  other 
man. 

The  writer  was  not  so  happy  as  to  enjoy  the  pri- 
vilege of  hearing  any  part  of  Dr.  Nisbet's  course  of 
theological  lectures.     Their  delivery  had  been  com- 
pleled  ten   months  before  he  took  up  his  temporary 
abode  in  Carlisle;  and  they  were  never  repeated  to  a 
second  class.     A  number  of  individual  students,  in- 
deed, from   time  to  time,  resorted   to  him   for  direc- 
tion in  their  studies;  but  the  regular  formation  of  a 
theological  class  was  never  again  accomplished.     The 
reasons  of  this  reflected  little  credit  on  the  youthful 
candidates  for  the  ministry  at  that  time.     Some  were 
discouraged  by    the   prospect  of  a   course   of  study 
which  was  to  extend  to  between  two  and  three  years! 
This  seemed  a  long  time  to  those  who  imaginedthat 
an  adequate  course  of  theological  instruction  might 
be  brought  within  a  much  shorter  compass,  and  whose 
parents,  still  more  impatient,  could  not  be  persuaded 
that  such  a  long,  and,  as  they  thought,  tedious  train- 


216  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBEti 

ing  could  be  necessary  to  prepare  candidates  for  the 
ministry  for  their  work.  They  saw  some  other  de- 
nominations, with  none  of  these  advantages,  and  in- 
deed with  scarcely  any  study,  sending  forth  scores  of 
popular  men;  and  hastily  supposed  that  so  much  pro- 
tracted labour  in  preparing  for  the  ministry  could  not 
be  needful. 

It  was  understood,  too,  that  the  requisition  of  the 
learned  and  venerable  lecturer,  that  every  member 
of  his  Theological  class  should  commit  to  writing  the 
whole  of  each  Lecture,  as  it  fell  from  his  lips,  was 
regarded  with  aversion,  and  deemed  a  drudgery  too 
severe  to  be  pursued  through  several  years.  This 
requisition  would  never  have  been  made  in  other 
circumstances.  But  the  Lecturer  well  knew  that 
books  were  extremely  scarce,  especially  in  the  west- 
ern parts  of  our  countr}^;  and  that,  therefore,  the  pos- 
session of  a  complete  system  of  Theology,  j)repared 
with  great  care,  would  be  a  treasure  of  permanent 
and  peculiar  value.  Even  this,  however,  was  not 
properly  appreciated  by  short-sighted  young  men, 
and  still  more  short-sighted  parents.  On  these  ac- 
counts, a  second  class  was  never  formed;  and,  al- 
though the  Lectures  in  question  were  copied  by  seve- 
ral Theological  students  who  had  not  tlie  privilege  of 
hearing  them  delivered,  and  were  read  in  manuscript 
by  a  number  of  the  neighbouring  divines,  they  were 
never  again  repeated  in  public. 

When  we  contemplate  the  deplorable  mistake  un- 
der which  a  large  portion  of  American  candidates  for 
the  ministry,  as  well  as  others,  appear  to  labour  re- 
specting the  requisite  extent  of  professional  study, 
we  cannot  wonder  that  enlightened    and  reflecting 


Residence  in  the  united  states.  217 

men  regard  it  as  deeply  humiliating.  That  this  mis- 
take should  still  continue  to  be  indulged  by  so  many 
theological  students,  after  all  that  has  been  said  and 
done  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church,  as 
Well  as  by  individual  ministers,  to  cojrect  the  evil, 
is  indeed  astonishing,  and  only  to  be  accounted  for 
on  principles  which  reflect  great  discredit  on  the 
judgment  of  those  wlio  allow  themselves  to  be  the 
dupes  of  the  error  in  question.  Wiien  one  who  un- 
derstands the  nature  and  importance  of  mature  study, 
sees  so  many  of  our  aspirants  to  the  sacred  office  con- 
tenting themselves  with  a  superficial  course,  can  he 
be  at  any  loss  to  explain  why  it  is  that  so  large  a  pro- 
portion of  their  number  are  consigned  to  obscuritj', 
and  comparative  uselessness  all  their  daj's;  why  their 
leanness  appears  so  conspicuous  in  all  their  public 
and  private  ministrations? 

No  one,  of  course,  will  wonder,  that  Dr.  Nisbet, 
after  coming  immediately  from  the  Colleges  and 
Theological  Halls  of  North  Britain,  in  which  a  train- 
ing so  extended  and  mature  was  then,  and  still  is, 
demanded,  should  have  been  surprized  and  deeply 
revolted  at  the  superficial  plans  and  habits  of  study 
which  he  was  constrained  continually  to  witness,  and 
yet  had  not  the  power  to  correct.  Had  he  not  felt  and 
spoken  respecting  this  infatuation  very  much  as  he 
did,  it  would  have  warranted  an  imputation  either  on 
his  discernment  or  his  faithfulness.  If  he  fell  into 
any  mistake  on  this  subject,  perhaps  it  was  in  not 
making  a  more  adequate  allowance  for  the  intrinsic 
difficulties  of  the  case;  and  in  not  setting  himself  to 
obviate  the  evil  by  means  more  accommodated  to  the 
Btate  of  things  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  than  those 
19 


218  MEMOIR  or  DR.  NISBET. 

which  were  suited  to  European  habits.  It  was,  no 
doubt,  a  severe  trial  to  a  man  long  accustomed  to  the 
best  literary  society,  to  ample  libraries,  and  to  bands 
of  youth  taking  large  views,  and  cherishing  ardent 
desires  of  knowledge;  to  find  so  many  of  the  young 
men  committed  to  his  care  unwilling  to  submit  to  the 
labour  of  study ;  complaining  of  hardship  when  it  was 
required  of  them;  and  considering  it  as  a  great  pri- 
vilege to  bear  the  name,  and  be  decorated  with  the 
honour  of  college  students,  with  few  or  none  of  their 
appropriate  attainments.  Who,  in  similar  circum- 
stances, could  have  had  reason  to  be  confident  that 
he  would  have  been  more  patient,  or  less  disposed  to 
direct  toward  the  glaring  evil  the  artillery  of  indig- 
nant wit  ami  withering  sarcasm,  than  was  this  great 
and  good  man? 

The  following  letter  from  Lady  Leven  is  the  last 
found  among  Doctor  Nisbet's  papers  from  that  excel- 
lent and  remarkable  woman.  The  infirmities  of  age 
were  now  creeping  upon  her;  her  health  soon  after- 
wards declined;  and  although  her  decease  did  not 
occur  until  1798,  her  latter  years,  it  is  believed,  were 
passed  in  much  feebleness. 

"  Melville  House,  August  22d,  1793.'' 
"  Dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  have  just  received  your  letter  and  parcel,  which 
has  roused  me  as  from  a  dream,  and  awakened  in  me 
sincere  regret  for  having  never  acknowledged  your 
former  long  letter.  To  convince  you  that  I  had  in- 
tended it,  1  send  this  sheet,  upon  which  1  had  begun 
an  answer;  but  having  let  that  opportunity  slip,  have 
never  found  a  more  convenient  season.     I  think  my- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  219 

self  that  I  have  become  unfit  for  writing;  letters.  If 
ever  I  had  any  capacity  that  way,  it  is  much  impair- 
ed. But  I  cease  from  apologies,  and  admire  your 
goodness  in  forgiving  this  seeming  neglect;  but  in 
deed  there  is  nothing  real  in  it.  You  have  laid  me 
under  a  great  obligation  by  the  treasure  you  have 
sent  me,  and  for  which  I  return  a  great  many  thanks, 
I  have  not  yet  proved  them;  but  I  know  they  need 
no  proof,  as  they  are  from  the  same  tree  from  which 
I  have  tastpd  such  sweet  fruits  formerly." 

**  I  wonder  Mr.  Martin  did   not  deliver  the  com- 
mission which  I  gave  him  to  thank  you,  and  make  my 
excuse   for   not    writing  when   he   did.     He   is   not 
happy,  having  gotten   his  son  a  preacher  and  a  kirk. 
It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  find  that  your  health  is 
so  good.     It  sometimes  comes  across  me  that  you 
will   yet  land  on   your  native  shore,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  your  life,  enjoy  the  society  of  some  old 
friends,  among  whom  I  rank  myself.     I  am  frail  and 
feeble  as  to  health;  at  the  same  time  I  wonder  that  I 
am  so  welL     It   is,   indeed,  a  singular  mercy  to  be 
free  from   many  of  those  distresses  incident  to   old 
age.     My  dear  friend  (the  Earl  of  Leven)  is  surpris- 
ingly healthy;  and  all  my  children  and  grand  chil- 
dren enjoy  good  health,     I  must  tell  you  a  circum- 
stance that  is  matter  of  wonder  and  praise.     Our  son 
John,   in   the  guards,  returned  to  Britain  just  when 
the  army  was  preparing  to  attackValenciennes,  which 
was  a  very  unlooked  for  event  by  his  anxious  friends; 
and  as  comfortable  as  unexpected.     The  cause  was, 
that  three  companies  were  to  be  raised,  and  added  to 
the  regiment;  and  he  was  appointed  to  one  of  them, 
which    gives   him    the    rank  of  Colonel,   besides, 


220  ME3I0IR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

bringing  him  home.  I  leave  it  to  you  to  reflect- 
how  this  ought  to  affect  tender  parents.  Yet  we 
ought  always  to  '  rejoice  with  trembling.'  not  know- 
ing wliere  our  danger  or  safety  lies;  but,  in  the 
mean  time,  it  is  relieving.'-' 

''The  situation  of  our  troops  before  Valenciennes 
engrosses  the  attention  of  all  ranks  and  denomina- 
tions at  preseiU.  What  wonderful  havock  and  bar- 
barities have  been  committed  since  I  wrote  you  last! 
What  the  end  of  these  things  will  be,  is  only  known 
to  Him  that  knoweth  all  things.  0  that  men  would 
become  wiser  and  better  by  the  jud<^ments  of  the 
Lord,  since  goodness  and  mercy  have  failed  of  bring- 
ing them  to  repentance!" 

"Mr.  Martin  will  write  you  all  the  news.  I  am 
a  very  bad  retailer;  and  indeed  the  most  rapid 
sketch  would  fill  a  volume.  I  will  send  you  some 
newspapers,  in  which  you  will  find  much  true  and 
much  false.  The  siege  of  Valenciennes  engrosses  at 
present  the  attention  and  anxiety  of  the  public.  May 
Divine  mercy  prevent  dreadful  consequences  I  I  dare 
say  people  in  Philadelphia  constantly  get  the  news- 
papers from  Britain.  S^o'ch  newspapers  will,  of 
course,  suit  your  taste  best.  We  are  all  quiet  at  pre- 
sent. No  sickness  or  pains  are  troubling  our  consti- 
tution. It  is  thought  that  the  many  late  receipts  for 
curing  public  disorders  have  had  a  good  etfect.  The 
'rights  of  man'  have  been  of  more  use  to  show  them 
their  wrongs  (by  many  just  commentaries  published 
on  this  subject)  than  any  method  that  would  have 
been  discovered.'' 

"Aug.  25.  The  news  of  the  surrender  of  Valen-. 
ciennes,  came  to  our  ears,  and  is  indeed  wonderful 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  221 

in  our  eyes.  I  wish  it  was  more  believed  to  be  the  do- 
ing of  the  Lord.  But  nothing  yet  has  been  said,  in  al 
the  accounts,  which  ascribe  this  wonderful  success  to  a 
higher  power  than  that  of  man.  That  such  an  event 
has  been  brought  about  with  the  loss  of  so  few  men, 
is  indeed  marvellous.  I  will  send  you  newspapers, 
and  leave  all  remarks  to  your  own  invention,  which 
is  not  only  fertile,  but  witty  and  wise.^' 

"I  have  just  finished  reading  your  *  Notes,'  which 
I  had  not  perused,  when  I  began  this  letter.  I  thank 
you  very  much  for  them.  They  have  no  fault  but 
a  small  one.  If  ever  you  favour  me  with  any  more, 
you  must,  if  you  please,  stretch  out  your  hand  writ- 
ing, in  pity  to  my  dim  sight.  I  have  great  reason, 
however,  to  be  thankful  that  my  sight  is  no  worse. 
My  Lord  read  some  of  them  easily  by  candle-light. 
Would  you  have  any  objection  to  our  publishing 
some  parts  of  these  Notes,  if  Dr.  Erskine  approved? 
There  are  some  remarks  that  would  be  well  timed, 
and  might  be  useful.  The  author  might,  or  might 
not  be  concealed." 

"  Dr.  E.  published  a  Sermon  sometime  ago,  which 
he  was  solicited  to  do,  which  I  will  send  you.  He 
preached  a  Sermon  at  Doctor  Robertson's  death, 
which,  together  with  a  Lecture,  were  esteemed  mas- 
ter-pieces, and  nothing  but  the  state  of  his  health 
prevents  his  complying  with  the  many  earnest  soli- 
citations to  publish  them.  It  is  with  much  pleasure 
that  I  venture  to  say,  he  is  continuing  better,  and 
preaches  often,  though  very  poorlj'.  He  is  a  won- 
derful man!  Dr.  Gillies  is  also  much  recovered. 
He  has,  at  last,  been  prevailed  upon  to  take  an  as- 
sistant. Mrs.  Gillies  died  last  winter,  after  which 
19* 


222  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

Mrs.  Leslie  staid  with  him  near  half  a  year.  He  is 
always  anxious  to  hear  about  yotr/' 

"  [  take  for  granted  that  Mr.MartHi  keeps  you  in- 
formed with  regard  to  church-matters.  1  hope,  in 
time,  they  will  improve,  and  truth  prevail  against 
error;  as  inquiry  has  been  making  concerning  this 
subject  at  Drs.  Erskine  and  Hunter,  and  their  party." 

"  Oh!  it  is  strange  to  reflect  that  America  is  so 
much  in  tlie  French  interest!  I  should  imagine  this 
partiality  to  be  only  apparent,  and  that  Britain  will 
still  have  a  hold  of  their  hearts.  Though  parents 
may  have  been  thought  harsh  and  severe  in  their 
measures,  yet  they  are  parents  still;  and  '  blood  is 
stronger  than  water,'  as  the  proverb  says.  Perhaps 
they  may  yet  unite,  and  take  one  of  our  princes  to 
rule  over  them.  What  says  Nosh^odamifs  concern- 
ing the  present'  times  and  prospects?  I  hope  some 
body  sent  you  Mr.  Fleming's  prophetical  conjec- 
tures concerning  many  things.  I  have  but  one 
copy." 

^'Now,  that  I  have  entered  upon  small  talk,  I 
shall  rather  tire  than  either  edify  or  amuse  you.  It 
is,  however,  a  gratification  to  me  that  I  have  covered 
so  much  paper,  in  '  cracking'  with  my  worthy 
friend  in  a  far  country;  but  would  much  rather  doit 
at  Melville  fire-side.  It  is  always  a  great  pleasure 
to  me  to  hear  from  you.  Let  me  know  what  is  do-, 
ing,  either  public  or  private;  how  you  are  now  with 
respect  to  temporal  concerns;  and  how  religion  ad- 
vances, ordeclineg;  whether  there  is  any  encourage- 
ment for  good  ministers,  if  we  could  spare  any  from 
our  small  stock.  Indeed,  it  is  not  the  best  here  that 
generally  meet  with   the   greatest    encouragement. 


J 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  223 

Perhaps  you  could  send  us  a  sample  of  ^owr  divines, 
I  should  like  to  see  some  of  your  raising,  if  they  an- 
swer your  wishes  and  care.  Many  of  ours  are  of 
the  fashionable  sort,  and  seem  to  have  learned  a  new 
creed.  I  do  not  know  how  they  can  sig;n  the  Confes- 
sion of  Faith  with  a  safe  conscience.  TVe  do  not  hear 
many  of  them  preach,  but  we  hear  much  of  them. 
Their  burden,  indeed,  seems  to  be  light,  and  they 
seem  to  have  laid  aside  every  weight,  and  all  beset- 
ting sins,  and  teach  me  so  to  do;  but  not  in  the  way 
that  He  teaches  who  taught  as  never  man  taught, 
and  that  cannot  be  learned  by  the  precepts  of  men. 
They  have  never  yet  learned  of  Him  who  said: 
*Take  my  yoke  upon  you.'  Though  I  fear  this 
class  of  divines,  old  and  young,  are  too  numerous, 
yet  there  are  many  excellent  pious  young  men.  But 
I  must  not  waste  my  paper,  having  to  thank  you  for 
another  letter,  just  now  received,  bearing  date  June 
14th.  I  take  this  as  a  great  mark  of  kindness,  espe- 
cially when  I  was  appearing  to  you  under  the  mask 
of  unkindness,  forgetful ness,  &c.;  a  very  unfair  copy 
of  my  countenance  toward  you,  my  worthy  old 
friend.  I  desire  that  whatever  appearances  may  oc- 
cur in  that  false  light,  you  m.ay  regard  and  treat  as 
not  even  the  shadows  of  the  truth;  which,  however, 
I  have  already  told  you  at  the  beginning  of  this  let- 
ter. I  am  sorry  you  should  make  any  apology  for 
your  excellent  'Notes,'  which  we  highly  prize,  and 
wish  that  they  and  more  of  the  same  useful  tendency, 
were  in  print." 

I  am  sorry  for  what  you  write  concerning . 

It  does  not  correspond  with  his  former  professions  of 
friendship.     He  must  ever  have  my  regard  and  good 


22i  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

wishes,  as  in  duty  bound.  But  many  are  the  chan- 
ges which  a  little  time  produces  in  this  uncertain 
state  of  things.  Blessed  be  God!  Mhe  foundation 
of  the  Lord  standeth  sure.'  This  is  firm  footing; 
all  is  sand  beside.'' 

"I  cannot  pretend  to  answer  your  letter,  further 
than  to  say,  that  I  approve  of  all  the  solid  reasoning 
which  it  contains;  that  I  beg  the  continuance  of  so 
edifying  a  correspondence;  and  that  you  inform  me 
concerning  the  situation  of  your  family.  I  beg  also 
to  be  informed  how  Doctor  Witherspoon  stood  the 
operation  which  he  underwent,  and  whether  it  had 
any  good  effect,  which  I  sincerely  wish;  and  would 
request,  that,  if  you  have  any  correspondence  with 
him,  you  would  say,  in  your  next,  that  I  remember 
htm  with  esteem  and  good  wishes.  My  good  friend 
sends  his  best  regards  to  you.  He  is  much  enter- 
tained with  5'our  correspondence.  Lord  Balgonie's 
family  is  well.  He  has  four  promising  sons.  Lady 
Ruthven  has  two  sons  and  five  daughters;  all  healthy 
and  thriving,  so  far.  Her  eldest  son  has  been  above  a 
year  in  England,  with  Mr.  D'Courcey,  who  was  in 
this  country  long  ago  in  Lady  Glenorchy's  family, 
and  is  now  settled  at  Shrewsbury.  All  the  young 
man's  tutors  approved  of  his  going  there;  and  we  had 
a  visit  from  him  and  Mr.  D'C.  this  summer.  He  is 
much  improved,  and  much  beloved  by  every  body. 
I  write  you  this  as  a  matter  of  great  thankfulness. 
The  girls  are  all  very  promising.  Sir  J.  and  Lady 
Jane  are  well,  and  their  only  daughter,  a  fine  tall 
girl.  Have  you  any  grandchildren?  Where  and 
how  are  your  young  people  emploj-ed?  How  does 
dear  Mrs.  Nisbet  keep  her  health?" 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  225 

"  I  am  afraid  you  will  find  my  letter  to  contain 
very  little  for  your  edification, — I  ought  to  have  said 
information.  Whatever  it  contains,  I  intend  it  as  a 
proof  of  cordial  good  will,  which  you  must  accept 
for  the  deed.  1  can  have  no  doubt  concerning  your 
usefulness,  though  it  may  not  appear  consjjicuous  to 
yourself.  Being  content  with  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke 
and  John,  is  a  hapjjy  sign,  though  not  a  'sign  of  the 
times.'  To  whom  can  we  go,  or  to  whom  should 
we  go  to  seek  the  truth,  but  to  the  precious  word  of 
God  which  testifies  it;  and  though  all  men  should 
become  liars,  this  foundation  standeth  sure.  You 
complain  of  pieaciiiug  to  a  dead  peoplp.  I  wish  I 
could  tell  you  it  would  be  diflferent  if  you  were  here. 
A  deep  sleep  seems  lo  prevail  over  all  ranks,  so  far 
as  I  can  see  or  hear  of.  What  says  Mr.  Martin?  I 
have  acccsa  to  see  no  cluirch  that.  i.s  differently  situa- 
ted. With  esteem  and  friendship,  believe  me^  dear 
sir/' 

"  Your  humble  servant,  ^*  W.  Leven." 

"  J?ey.  Br.  NIsbet." 

"P.  S.  I  thoiiglit  that  I  had  written  to  you  that 
the  author  of  Horse  Soli t arise  is  a  Mr.  Serle,  who 
was  secretary  to  Lord  Howe,  during  the  last  war; 
and  now  enjoys  a  place  under  government  of  about 
twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  pounds  sterling  a  year;  as 
they  know  him  to  be  a  man  of  business,  as  well  as  of 
learning  and  piety.  He  has  WTitten  many  pious 
small  tracts,  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  &c.  I  sent  you 
his  *  Christian  Remembrancer.'  He  is  a  very  sin- 
gular man  in  his  generation.  Tell  me  your  opinio^ 
of  his  publications," 


226  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

In  ihe  spring  of  1792,  Doctor  Nisbet  paid  a  visit 
to  Governor  Dickinson,  whose  reputation  and  muni- 
ficence had  induced  the  Trustees  to  give  his  name  to 
the  College  over  which  the  subject  of  this  Memoir 
presided.     Mr.  Dickinson  was  now  residing  in  Wil- 
mington, in  the  state  of  Delaware,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  otium  cum  dignitate  which  became  an  afflu- 
ent, enlightened,  retired  statesman.     This  visit  ap- 
pears to   have  been   a  highly  gratifying  one  on  both 
sides.      Mr.  Dickinson  seems  to  have  retained,  what 
some  other  members  of  the  original  Board  of  Trus- 
tees did  not, — a  deep  sense  of  the  obligation,  result- 
ing from  their  wi'ilten  pledges,  in  calling  Dr.  Nisbet 
from  Scotland,  to  consult,  and   endeavour  to  secure, 
his  personal   comfort.     He,  therefore,  ever    treated 
him  with  the  most  pointed  attention  and  respect.      A 
gentleman  who   happened    to  be  a   witness  of  the  in- 
terview and  conversation  between  these  two  gentle- 
men, during  the  first  evening  after  Dr.  Nisbet's  arri- 
val, gave  the  writer  of  these  pages  an  account  of  it, 
which  was  in  no  small  degree  interesting. 

The  conversation  on  that  evening  turned  on  the 
following  subject — "  The  probable  effect  of  a  zealous 
and  ardent  prosecution  of  the  study  of  the  physi- 
cal sciences  on  the  religious  character;  or,  the  ten* 
denc}'  of  a  long  continued  and  earnest  investiga- 
tion of  the  wonders  of  nature  to  produce  a  forgetful- 
ness  of  the  Creator  and  Governor  of  the  world."  In 
this  conversation  Dr.  Nisbet,  as  was  expected  and 
desired,  took  the  lead.  He  maintained  the  position, 
that  unless  the  grace  of  God  produced  a  different 
effect,  the  more  intimately  men  became  acquainted 
with  the  works  of  nature,  the  less  mindful  were  they 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  227 

of  their  great  Author.  The  gentleman  who  made 
report  of  this  conversation,  represented  it  as  one  of 
the  most  rich,  instructive  and  interesting  intellectual 
feasts  that  he  ever  enjoyed.  At  the  close,  Mr.  Dick- 
inson said  to  him — "  Doctor,  what  you  have  said, 
would  form  an  invaluahle  octavo  volume.  I  would 
give  a  large  sum  to  have  it  in  that  form."  He  urged 
his  venerahle  guest  to  pay  him  an  annual  visit.  And 
on  Doctor  Nisbet's  return  home,  he  received  notice 
that  Mr.  Dickinson  had  deposited  five  hundred  dol- 
lars in  one  of  the  Philadelphia  banks,  subject  to  his 
order,  for  bearing  the  expence  of  the  future  visits 
which  he  had  solicited.  Accordingly,  for  several  years 
afterwards,  he  continued  to  pay  an  annual  visit  to 
Mr,  Dickinson,  and  was  always  received  and  treated 
as  might  have  been  expected  on  the  part  of  one  who 
made  a  proper  estimate  of  the  talents,  learning  and 
piety  of  his  guest,  and  who  remembered  the  solicita- 
tions and  promises  which  had  allured  him  from  his 
native  land. 

These  journeys  were  always  made  on  horseback. 
The  running  of  public  stages  between  Carlisle  and 
Philadelphia,  had  then,  either  not  begun,  or  the  es- 
tablishments were  on  such  an  uncomfortable  footing, 
and  the  roads  so  bad,  that  the  most  eligible  mode  of 
travelling,  for  him,  was  on  the  saddle.  He  preferred 
it  to  any  other  within  his  reach. 

In  the  year  1793,  Dr.  Nisbet  passed  through  an 
ordeal  which  was  in  no  small  degree  trying  to  his 
feelings,  and  those  of  his  family.  In  the  progress  of 
what  was  called  the  "Whiskey  Rebellion,"*  in  that 

•  A  rebellion  in  Pennsylvania,  occasioned  by  the  tax  laid  by  the 
government  of  the  United  States  on  the  distilling  of  ardenl  spirits. 


2,28  KEMOIR    OP    DR.    ^^ISBET. 

year,  which  called  out  the  military  force  of  the 
United  States,  with  Washinglon  at  its  head,  to  put  it 
down — the  popular  excilemeut  at  Carlisle  was  tre- 
mendous. On  this  occasion  the  suhject  of  the 
present  Memoir  concurred  with  his  colleague,  Dr. 
Davidson,  in  opinion  that  it  was  proper  to  say  some- 
thing from  the  pulpit  adapted  to  allay  the  dieadful 
tumult.  Dr.  Davidson  in  the  morning,  gave  a  ju- 
dicious, hut  modest  and  mild  discourse,  which  though 
not  very  acceptable  to  the  populace,  gave  hut  little 
offence.  Dr.  Nisbet  in  the  afternoon,  spoke  out  a 
little  more  jjlainly.  His  text  was,  1-  Thessalonians, 
iv.  11.  'And  that  ye  study  to  be  quiets  and  to  do 
your  ou'7i  business,  and  to  itork  with  your  own 
hands,  as  ice  ccmmandcd  yen.  In  this  sermon  he 
endeavoured  to  show,  with  much  force  of  reasoning, 
drawn  from  Scripture  and  experience,  and  not  with- 
out some  fignificant  occasional  glances  of  a  satirical 
kind,  that  all  men  were  not  equally  fitted  to  be 
Philosophers,  Legislators,  and  Statesmen;  but  that 
some  were  intended  for  working  with  their  hands. 
This  sermon  gave  great  cffence  to  a  portion  of  the 
congregation;  some  of  whom  remarked,  that  '^ such 
doctrine  did  not  suit  this  side  of  the  Atlantic." 
Accordingly,  a  few  days  afterwards,  when  the  Whis- 
key insurgents  came  into  Carlisle,  from  the  adjacent 
country,  to  erect  a  Whiskey  or  Liberty  Pole,  it  was 
feared,  by  many,  that  Dr.  Nisbet's  Iiouse  would  be 
violently  assailed  by  the  mob.  Some  respectable 
friends  and  neighbours  offered  to  remain  in  his 
house  for  the  purpose  of  del^ending  it,  if  attacked. 
He  declined  however  accepting  tlie  offer;  wisely 
judging  that  if  such  an  assemblage   were  known  of, 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  229 

it  might  invite  attack.  The  result  showed  that  pro- 
vision for  defence  was  not  wholly  unnecessary.  The 
mob  were  actually  and  furiously  proceeding  to  the 
President's  house,  but  were  stopped  by  a  friend, 
who  informed  them  that  his  younger  daughter  was 
lying  very  ill,  and  that  to  attack  his  dwelling,  under 
such  circumstances,  would  be  brutal  rather  than  pa- 
triotic. This  remonstrance  prevailed  with  the  infu- 
riated multitude  to  retire. 

Is  it  wonderful  that  this  venerable  servant  of  God 
should  have  received,  from  such  scenes,  impressions 
of  an  unfavourable  kind  concerning  the  population 
and  institutions  of  our  country?  Here  was  a  man 
eminent  for  his  learning  and  piety,  who  had,  in  his 
own  country,  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  America 
in  our  revolutionary  war;  who  had  fearlessly  preach- 
ed and  prayed  against  the  measures  of  his  own  gov- 
ernment in  that  contest,  yet  without  suflfering  any 
violence;  who,  on  coming  to  a  land  of  boasted  free- 
dom, for  the  simple  declaration  of  his  opinions,  could 
scarcely  be  protected  from  the  lawless  ferocity  of  a 
mob! 

The  following  extract  of  a  letter  addressed  by  Dr. 
Nisbet  to  his  old  friend,  Dr.  Witherspoon,  December 
3,  1793,  a  few  months  only  before  the  death  of  the 
latter,  v/ill  give  a  characteristic  view  of  the  state  of 
mind  of  the  writer  at  that  time,  and  of  the  aspect  of 
various  things  in  our  country: 

"The  consequences  of  the  yellow  fever  in  Phi- 
ladelphia, and  the  reports  of  its  having  been  in  this 
place,  have  prevented  the  return  of  more  than  half 
of  our  students  from  the  southern  States;  and  I  am 
afraid  that  some  of  the  students  themselves  have  had 
20 


230  MfiMotR  oj*  t)R.  ms-^tf. 

a  hand  in  the  affair,  and  misrepresented  the  situation 
of  this  place,   in  order  to  prevail  with    their  parents 
not  to  send  ihem  back,   as  their  indolence   and  their 
aversion  to  study   are  inexpressible,    and  the   indul- 
gence that  is  given  them  by  their  parents,  is  almost 
boundless.     One  C— ,  from  North  Carolina,  who  was 
certified  to  us  as  qualified  even  to  teach   the  ancient 
languages,  (although  he  was  afraid  of  being  examined 
in  them,)  and  as  well  acquainted  with  almost  every 
.  part  of  philosophy,  is  gone,  as  1  fear,  to  your  College, 
because   we  would   not  admit  him   into  the   Philo- 
sophy class,  in  the  middle  of  the  course,  in  hopes  of 
obtaining  a  degree   without  any   examination  or  fur- 
ther instruction.     I  wonder   that  you   did    not  men- 
tion him  in  your  letter.     But   it  is  probable  that  he 
would  not  mention  to  you  that  he  had   ever  been  in 
this  place.'' 

"  I  have  been  informed  that  at  the  College  at ■ 

they  have  no  public  lessons,  and  the  students  are  not 
bound  to  give  attendance  at  the  institution;  but  that 
their  teachers  give  them  books,  from  time  to  time, 
from  which  they  make  extracts,  or  compose  speeches, 
which  they  recite  when  they  return  to  the  College; 
and  that  the  whole  of  their  education  is  conducted  in 
this  manner.  If  students  succeed  in  this  wa}',  1 
think  that  they  will  not  be  much  indebted  to  the  la- 
bour of  their  teachers.  But  every  thing  is  supposed 
to  be  so  much  improved  in  the  present  age,  that  I 
should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  of  students  receiving 
degrees  without  any  study  at  all;  and  the  practice  at 

,  if  my   intelligence  is  to   be   depended   on, 

seems  to  come  very  near  it." 

"  I  hear  that  some  of  the  *  friends  of  the  people  ' 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  231 

have  come  over  from  Scotland  this  year,  and  pub- 
lished the  most  dismal  accounts  of  the  situation  of 
that  country,  which  are  contrary  to  all  the  intelli- 
gence that  I  have  from  my  correspondents.  I  sup- 
pose that  you  have  already  heard  of  the  arrival  of 
Dr.  Priestley's  son  in  this  country,  from  France,  and 
that  his  father  is  expected  soon  to  follow  him  from 
England.  Is  it  not  somewhat  surprising  that  this 
young  man,  who,  scarcely  a  year  ago,  gave  public 
thanks  to  the  National  Assembly  of  France,  for  the 
immense  honour  they  had  dotie  him,  by  adopting 
him  as  a  French  citizen,  should  have  so  soon  become 
sick  of  Miberty  and  equality,'  and  come  over  to 
this  country,  where  we  have  only  liberty?  But  as  I 
hear  that  the  expenses  of  the  new  play-house  in 
Philadelphia  are  not  yet  defrayed,  I  am  afraid  that 
the  Doctor  will  not  find  subscribers  for  building  him 
a  place  of  worship,  and  paying  his  salary,  unless  Con- 
gress shall  be  pleased  to  vole  him  a  pension,  as  a 
French  citizen  in  distress,  or  to  give  him  a  salary 
for  officiating  as  their  chaplain,  and  should  turn  this 
office  into  a  church-dignity  in  his  favour." 

"By  the  way,  I  have  seen  the  plan  of  the  Federal 
City,  and  agree  that  it  resembles  the  New  Jerusalem 
in  one  respect;  for,  as  St.  John  testifies,  that  *  he  saw 
no  temple  there;'  so  I  find  no  plan  or  place  for  a 
church  in  all  that  large  draught.  But  I  cannot  add 
what  he  mentions  in  the  next  verse,  as  I  believe  that 
our  people  will  be  well  enough  contented  with  the 
light  of  '  Liberty  and  Equality,'  together  with  that 
of  French  lanterns  and  Atheistical  philosophy.  Yo\i 
do  not  mention  whether  the  'citizen  Minister'  has 
been  successful  in  making  proselytes  for  his  repub- 


232  MEMOIR  OF   0R.  NISBET. 

lie  in  the  city  of  New-York;  nor  whether  the  gene- 
rality of  the  citizens  have  left  off  wearing  breeches. 
You  ought  to  have  informed  me  too,  as  you  live  so 
near  the  source  of  light  and  information,  whether 
wooden  shoes  are  worn  by  the  majority  of  the  people; 
whether  soiip  maigre  is  in  great  request  at  their 
tables;  and  what  is  the  current  price  oi  frogs  in  their 
markets.  But  it  appears  that  you  have  too  little  cu- 
riosity with  regard  to  the  affairs  of  your  neighbours." 

"  The  subscription  by  the  opposition  party  in  Eng- 
land, of  a  large  subsidy,  and  a  permanent  annuity  to 
Mr.  Fox,  in  my  opinion,  does  little  honour,  either 
to  the  givers,  or  to  the  receiver.  Patriotism  seems 
to  have  run  very  low  in  England,  if  the  people  could 
find  no  more  proper  object  for  their  bounty  and  con- 
fidence, than  a  man  who  has  spent  his  whole  life  in 
the  pursuit  of  wine,  women  and  cards;  and  who  only 
attended  to  the  affairs  of  the  public  in  the  intervals 
of  his  debauchery.  A  similarity  of  character  in  his 
subscribers  may  be  naturally  inferred,  from  their 
choosing  him  as  the  object  of  their  bounty.  Besides, 
it  does  little  honour  to  their  understanding  that  they 
have  attempted  to  limit  a  professed  gambler,  and  ta 
make  his  annuity  inseparable  from  his  person.  As 
if  that  could  not  be  staked  on  a  card,  as  well  as  any 
other  possession.  Accordingly  the  newswriters  pre- 
tend that  this  ^  man  of  the  people'  has  already  lost 
his  inseparable  annuity  at  play,  to  a  Scotch  Lord,  so 
that  he  has  nothing  remaining  except  the  title  of 
^king  of  the  beggars,'  which  is  likely  to  be  more 
inseparable  from  him  than  his  annuity." 

About  this  time  his  faithful  correspondent,  Dr. 
^rskine,  was  assiduous  in   keeping  hinx  informed. 


RESIDENCE    IN    THE    UNITIJD    STATES.  233 

of  the  various  events  in  Scotland  which  might  be 
supposed  to  he  interesting  to  his  American  friend. 
Tliough  Dr.  E.  had  many  correspondents  on  this  side 
of  the  Atlantic,  the  number  which  he  addressed  to 
Dr.  Nisbet  is  really  surprising.  Out  of  many  which 
might  be  inserted,  all  of  which  would  be  interesting, 
the  following  is  a  small  specimen: 

''Edinburgh,  August  12,  1793.'' 
"  Dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  received  your  letters  of  30th  January,  and  June 
4th,  and  have  not  sent  you  a  parcel  since  the  14th  of 
February  last,  which  I  am  glad  went  safely  to  your 
hands." 

^' The  Rev.  Mr.  Dunn,  of  Kirkintillock,  was  im- 
prisoned in  Edinburgh  Tolbooth,  for  three  months. 
The  ground  of  the  sentence  was,  his  cutting  some 
leaves  from  the  minutes  of  a  Society  of  *  the  Friends 
of  the  People,'  which  might  have  authenticated  a 
charge  of  sedition  against  them.  But  I  believe  some 
passages  of  his  Synod  Sermon  on  Rev.  xxi.  5,  occa- 
sioned a  severity  which  to  many  appeared  too  great. 
Some  passages  of  the  Sermon  were  thought  to  favour 
sedition;  and  though,  from  his  explications  in  other 
parts,  I  hope  he  had  no  such  design,  I  think  he  very 
improperly  wrested  and  misapplied  his  text.  None 
of  the  anonymous  pamphlets  were  written  by  me. 
That  against  Mr.  Dunn,  is  generally  ascribed  to  Mr. 
Moody,  of  St.  Andrew's  church.  Dr.  Porteous,  of 
Glasgow,  a  keen  supporter  of  the  slave  trade,  and  of 
the  measures  of  our  ministry  in  the  war  with  France^ 
has  published  a  Sermon,  Jeremiah  vi,  16:  Thus 
taith  the  Lord,  stand  ye  in  the  wa^s,  &c.  which 
20* 


234  MEMOIR   OF  ]>R.  NISBET. 

many  think  has  gone  as  far  to  one  extreme,  as  Mr»' 
Dunn's  sermon  to  the  other.     Both  of  them  are  able 
men,  and  diligent  and  useful  ministers;  and,  I  believe, 
prompted  in  this  instance  by  an  honest  zeal,  the  one 
for  reforming  things  amiss  in  the  constitution  or  ad- 
ministration of  goveraraent;.  and  the  other  for  pro- 
moting good  order,  and  a  just  subjection  to  lawful 
authority.     But  the  zeal  of  neither  has  been,  I  think, 
according  to  knowledge:. — and  both  verify  the  max- 
im, that  not  only  stulti,  but  sapieiites  dum  vitia 
fugiunt^  in  contraria  currimt.     Indeed  Paine,  and 
many  of  the  anonymous  writers  on  the  same  side, 
have  probably — ^some  with  design,  and  some  without 
it — vented  sentiments  which  lead  to  violent  means 
for  essentially  altering  our  constitution,  and  even  to 
an  equalizing  of  property;  and  many  of  the  replies, 
in   their   loyalty,  have   forgotten    whig   principles, 
and  vindicated  as  necessary  government  carrying  on 
their   measures    by    bribery    and    corruption.      Dr. 
Hunter,  however,  Mr.   M'Gill,   of  Eastwood;   and 
Mr.  Somerville,  of  Jedburgh;  have  steered  clear  of 
these  extremes.     On  the  other  band,  many,  who  had 
no    other   design,   have    been    unjustly   branded   as. 
friends  of  sedition,  especially  by  those  who  belong 
to  the  moderate  party.     Mr.  Thompson,  of  Ochil- 
tree, and  Mr.  Davidson,  of  Dundee,  are  instances  of 
this;  of  whom  ill-natured  calumnies  have  been  in- 
vented anxl  spread,  and  found   too    ready   a  belief 
from  those  whose  distance  and  circumstances  did  not 
allow  them  to  examine  the  change." 

"  I  know  not  how  this  war  is  more  unpopular 
than  that  with  America  was,  though  administration 
plead  aecessity,  as  France,  when  pretending  friend- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  235 

ship,  by  secret  emissaries,  was  encouraging  disaffec- 
tion and  rebellion.  Yet  this  notwithstanding,  though 
many  disapprove  particular  measures  of  government, 
our  enemies  are  much  mistaken,  if  they  flatter  them- 
selves that  we  wish  to  get  rid  of  our  king  and  con- 
stitution. There  are  some  such  among  us;^  but  their 
aumbers,  rank,  character  and  influence  are  not  alarm- 
ing. It  is  fortunate  for  the  interest  of  religion, 
that  some,  unjustly  termed  Uhe  wild  Clergy,'  were 
the  earliest  to  warn  against  and  reprave  the  riots  of 
179^;  and  that  Palmer,  the  head  of  all  the  professed 
Socinians  here,  is  thought  to  have  been  active  in 
spreading  seditious  papers. " 

"  You  have,  no  doubt,  heard  of  my  colleague,  Dr. 
Robertson's  death.  Our  opposite  sentiments  and 
conduct  as  to  Church  policy,  and  the  late  American 
war,  did  not  hinder  our  mutual  regard.  He  endured, 
for  six  weeks  before  his  death,  violent  pain,  with 
much  fortitude  and  resignation.  He  was  no  friend 
to  the  Ayrshire  doctrines  as  to  the  divinity  and 
Atonement  of  Christ;  and  I  have  reason  to.  think  our 
sentiments  as  to  the  present  posture  of  afl'airs,  were 
much  the  same.  The  Sabbath  after  his  burial  I 
preached  two  sermons;  the  first  on  1  Peter,  i.  12  — 
15;  and  the  second  on  1  Chronicles  xxix.  12:  In  thine 
hand  is  to  make  great — which  I  have  been  much 
urged  to  publish;  though  publishing  the  first  is  im- 
possible, as  nothing  of  it  was  written,  except  what 
related  to.  my  colleague's  character,  Mr.  Baird, 
who  has  been  only  nine  months  a  minister  of  Edin- 
burgh, succeeds  him  as  Principal  of  the  University. 
His  diligence  in  public  and  private  ministerial  duties, 
persuade  me  that  he  will  do  no  dishonour  to  that 


236  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

office;  although  those  who  wished  it  for  the  aged  Dr. 
Blair,  or  the  eloquent  Dr.  Hardie,  make  a  great  out- 
cry against  Provost  Elder,  for  doing  for  his  son-in- 
law  what,  perhaps,  in  a  similar  case,  they  would  have 
done  for  theirs." 

"I  herewith  send  you  a  small  bundle  of  books, 
chiefly  German  periodicals." 

"  I  find  that  the  observation  which  I  ascribed  to 
Mr.  Nathaniel  Mather,  was  indeed  the  observation 
of  Mr.  Samuel  Mather.  You  will  find  it  in  Dr.  Cot- 
ton Mather's  Magnalia,  Book  IV.  p.  152.  With 
best  compliments  to  Mrs.  Nisbet  and  your  family, 
in  which  my  wife  and  family  join," 
"  I  am,  dear  Sir," 

*^  Yours,  affeclionately," 

"John  Erskine." 

«  Rev.  Dr.  NisUt.'' 

From  the  same 

'^  Edinburgh,  July  24,  1797." 
*'  Dear  Sir,'' 

"Four  days  ago,  I  wrote  you  a  hasty  line,  which 
was  all  that  my  time  then  allowed,  being  much  oc- 
cupied by  my  *  Sketches,'  vol.  ii.  I  was  favoured 
the  day  after  with  yours  of  May  2.2d.  My  parcel  to 
you  goes  under  cover  to  Mi'.  Samuel  Campbell,  b-y  a 
ship  from  Leith  for  New  York.  I  send  this  letter 
by  another  hand,  ii>  the  same  ship,  that  it  may  go  by 
post  from  New  York,  and  inform  you  of  the  parcel." 

"  The  ignorance  of  Church  history,  and  especiaUy 
of  the  Church  history  of  the  present  century,  appears 
to  me  very  deplorable,  and  to  mislead  many  well- 
wieaning  men.     My  second  volume  is  almost  coa- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  237 

fined  to  the  modern  history  of  Popery;  and,  I  think, 
shows  that,  though  Louis  XVI.  and  the  unfortunate 
King  of  Poland,  were  of  tolerant  principles,  and  the 
Emperors  Joseph  and  Leopold  not  only  friends  to 
liberty  of  conscience,  but  promoters  of  the  reforma- 
tion of  some  of  the  greatest  abuses  of  Popery;  yet 
that  the  absurdities,  idolatries,  superstitions,  and  per- 
secuting spirit  of  a  great  part  of  the  Popish  Church, 
remain  the  same.  I  think  I  have  also  given  some 
reasons  in  opposition  to  the  Seceders  and  others,  who 
think  as  ill  of  Popery  as  I  do,  that  the  extremes  of 
atheism,  of  infidelity,  and  of  a  levelling,  anarchical 
spirit,  when  the  evils  engendered  by  them  are  for 
a  time  felt,  will  stimulate  men  to  fly  from  them  to 
the  opposite  evils  of  arbitrary  power  and  superstition, 
being  ignorant  of  the  true  cure  in  genuine  Chris- 
tianity." 

"The  bad  efiects  of  the  revolution  in  Holland  will 
not,  I  suppose,  immediately  appear;  as  many  of  the 
worthiest  ministers  there  continue  to  be  supported 
by  their  wealthy  hearers,  and  continue  to  preach  and 
to  write  as  formerly  on  the  great  doctrines  and  du- 
ties of  Christianity.  But  as  no  clergymen  are  to  be 
paid  by  the  state,  if  (which  appears  to  me  probable 
from  the  speeches  which  are  published)  private  do- 
nations to  religious  purf)oses  are  to  be  considered  as 
sacred,  the  consequence  will  be  the  Roman  Catholics 
in  Holland  will  return  to  the  possession  of  the  many 
legacies  and  endowments  made  in  their  favour  be- 
fore the  Reformation;  and,  consequently,  will  be 
able  to  maintain  their  clergy  at  less  expense,  which 
must  tempt  covetous  worshippers,  of  little  conscience, 
at  once  to  go  over  to  their  communion.'* 


238  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

"The  Rev.  Dr.  Peirson,  minister  of  the  English 
church  at  Amsterdam,  has  been  one  of  the  greatest 
sufferers  by  the  revohition.  Apprehending  it,  he 
had  sent  on  board  an  English  ship  silver  plate, 
jewels,  &c.  belonging  to  his  wife,  and  very  valuable 
furniture,  worth  nearly  £1400  sterling,  which  was 
seized  in  the  Texel,  by  De  Winter,  then  in  the 
French  service,  and  now  the  Prince  of  Orange's 
successor  as  Admiral  of  Holland.  De  Winter  did 
not  report  the  capture  to  the  French  commissaries. 
His  roguery  and  meanness  were  condemned;  but  the 
Doctor  could  procure  no  restitution.  On  the  first 
day  of  June,  1795,  it  was  moved  in  the  Classis  at 
Amsterdam,  to  congratulate  the  municipality  of  that 
city  on  the  treaty  between  France  and  Holland. 
The  Doctor  opposed  the  motion,  and  said,  that  the 
day  of  signing  that  treaty  appeared  to  him  the  most 
sad  and  dismal  day  Holland  had  ever  seen.  The 
motion  was  over  ruled  by  a  majority  of  two  votes, 
which  discouraged  attempts  at  procuring  such  con- 
gratulations from  other  classes.  The  rulers  were 
amazed  at  the  Doctor,  and  became  more  so  on  his 
refusing  a  declaration,  when  summon<ed  before  the 
municipality  on  account  of  that  speech,  of  submission 
to  the  new  government,  and  that  he  never  would  do 
any  thing  for  re-establishing  the  Stadholder.  This 
lie  thought  he  could  not  do  without  renouncing  his 
allegiance  to  his  native  sovereign,  and  leaguing  him- 
self with  the  king's  enemies.  On  the  14th  of  July, 
1795,  the  municipality  suspended  him  from  his  oflfice 
and  benefice,  worth  about  £200  sterling:  and  on  the 
20th  of  July  they  dismissed  him  from  his  office,  and 
prohibited  his  leaving  Amsterdam  without  the  con- 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE   UNITED  STATES.  239 

sent  of  the  Committee  of  Vigilance,  whom  they  ap- 
pointed to  keep    a  watchful  eye  over  him.     For  a 
year  and  nine  months  he  was  thus  under  arrest,  in 
his  own  house,  and  spies  employed  to  watch  his  mo- 
tions.    This  year,  on  the  14th  April,  the  Committee 
of  Vigilance  forced  him  thence,  and  put  him  in  pri- 
son, none  having  access  to  him  except  the  jailor  and 
his  servants;  he  and  his  lady  not  being  allowed  even 
to  write  to  each  other  without  their  inspection.  The 
first  ten  days,  she  was  not  allowed  to  send   him  any 
victuals.     On  the  27th  of  April,  they  delivered  him 
up  to  the  Committee  of  Justice.     Both  friends  and 
foes  exclaimed  against  these  proceedings.     It  is  be- 
lieved that  nothing  criminal  can    be  found  against 
him;  and  he  says,  with  firmness,  the  motto  of  arms 
shall    be  *  death    rather   than    disloyalty.'       I   have 
heard  of  no  later  accounts  of  him  than  those  bearing 
date  the  15th  of  May  last.     He  got  a  good  deal  of 
money  with  his  lady;  and  his  losses  are  supposed  to 
amount  to  £2500  sterling;  and   it   is  supposed    that 
the  expenses  of  lawyers,  &.c.  may  amount  to  several 
hundred   pounds  more.     When   so  much  has   been 
done  for  French  emigrants,  I  hope  our  administra- 
tion  will   not  neglect   a  native  of  Britain,  who,  for 
his  attachment  to  his  king  and  the  Prince  of  Orange, 
expressed,  perhaps,   with    more   honesty   than   pru- 
dence,  has   sufiered   so   severely.     As   these   things 
have  not  appeared   in  our  prints,  and   probably  will 
not  in  yours,  I  have  given  them  thus* fully.'' 

"  I  will  mention  another  and  more  agreeable  anec- 
dote, which  I  had  from  a  friend  near  London,  to 
whom  it  was  related  by  one  who  had  it  in  that  city 
from  the  Polish  General,  Kosciusko.     The  Empe- 


240  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

ror  Paul  came  to  him  in  prison,  incog.  After  in» 
quiring  about  his  health,  he  asked  the  General  if  he 
wished  to  be  set  at  liberty?  The  answer  was,  *  cer- 
tainly, but  I  know  not  how  to  obtain  it.'  The  visitor 
replied — *  I  have  some  interest  at  court,  and  if  you 
will  tell  me  what  you  would  do  if  you  had  your  li- 
berty, I  will  use  it  in  your  behalf.'  The  General 
replied — *  I  would  go  to  America.'  On  which,  the 
unknown  visitor  said — *  I  am  Paul,  the  Russian  Em- 
peror; my  mother  is  now  dead;  and  you  are  this 
moment  at  liberty  to  go  where  you  please.  I  shall 
order  £8000  to  bear  your  expenses  to  America.' 
My  correspondent  says,  he  has  a  pension  there,  and 
will  get  any  quantity  of  land  he  can  reasonably  ask. 
He  has  a  most  painful  and  disabling  wound  in  his 
thigh,  so  that  he  cannot  walk.  As  soon  as  he  came 
to  London,  WaronzofT,  the  Russian  Ambassador,  no 
doubt  by  order  of  his  generous  master,  waited  on 
him,  showed  him  the  utmost  respect,  and  asked  him 
if  he  would  permit  him  to  send  his  physician  to  him? 
The  general  consented;  and  the  ambassador  sent  his 
physician,  who  took  with  him  some  other  physi- 
cians and  skilful  surgeons,  who  thought  it  would  re- 
quire two  or  three  years  for  him  to  recover  strength 
in  his  limb;  but  that  he  would  be  always  lame.  The 
American  consul  at  Bristol  took  the  general  from 
the  hotel,  and  entertained  him  at  his  own  expense 
until  he  embarked  for  America.  By  accounts,  both 
from  London  and  Bristol,  he  is  a  most  modest  and 
unassuming  man." 

"As  ships  sometimes  sail  from  Philadelphia,  and 
more  frequently  from  New  York,  for  Scotland,  when 
you  have  an  opportunity,  write  by  Mr.  Ebenezer 


iJESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  241 

Hazard,  Philadelphia,  or  Mr.  John  Thompson,  New 
York,  merchant  in  Queen  street,  and  every  thing 
you  commit  to  them  will  be  correctly  forwarded/' 

"I  was  confined  about  ten  weeks,  the  end  of  the 
last  and  beginning  of  the  present  year,  but  since  have 
preached  as  usual.  My  wife  has  had  no  return  of 
dangerous  distress,  but  has  had,  for  four  months, 
rheumatic  pains,  which  have  prevented  her  visiting 
and  being  out  at  night,  but  have  not  hindered  her 
going  to  church,  and  sometimes  taking  an  airing  in 
a  chaise.      I  am,  dear  sir,  yours,    affectionately,'^ 

'^  John  Erskine." 

"  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet." 

^^  P.  S.  Dr.  Snodgrass,  of  Paisley,  died  last  month. *' 

From  the  same. 

"  Lauriston,   Octoher  2d,  1797." 
''Dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  chuse  not  to  write  what  you  will  see  as  early, 
if  not  more  so,  from  the  public  prints.  The  follow- 
ing anecdote  may  not  be  disagreeable:" 

"  The  Stadtholder  and  suite  were  expected  at  Col- 
chester, on  their  flight  from  Holland,  late  on  Friday 
night.  Mr.  Sterry,  a  worthy  clergyman  there,  sent 
word  to  the  proper  quarter,  that  he  would  gladly 
give  the  best  accommodations  in  his  power  to  some 
of  them.  Accordingly,  M.  De  Lorry,  and  one  or 
two  more,  came  to  Mr.  Sterry's  house,  near  12 
o'clock  at  night;  and  as  they  had  hardly  slept  any 
for  the  six  preceding  nights,  requested  to  be  imme- 
diately put  to  bed.  In  the  morning  they  signified 
their  inclination  in  every  thing  to  conform  to  the 
21 


242  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

usages  of  the  family;  attended  family  worship;  and 
breakfasted  with  them;  Mr.  S.  desiring  them  to  send 
for  their  servants,  and,  while  the  Prince  remained  in 
Colchester,  to  use  all  the  freedom  in  his  house  they 
would  in  their  own.  On  Saturday  Mr.  Sterry 
was  introduced  to  the  Stadtholder,  and  expressed  his 
concern  for  the  occasion  of  his  visiting  England,  and 
his  thankfulness  that  God  had  preserved  his  high- 
ness in  the  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed.  The 
Prince  received  him  with  great  cordiality;  signified 
that  he  would  be  his  hearer  on  the  next  day;  and  re- 
quested the  loan  of  a  prayer-book,  that  he  might  pre- 
viously read  the  prayers  and  lessons  of  the  day.  On 
the  Sabbath,  Mr.  Sterry  preached  from  1  Chron.  xx. 
12,  and  first  viewed  sin  as  the  cause  of  all  calamities 
and  danger;  and  lastly,  the  proper  consolation  under 
such  circumstances.  The  Prince  stood  during  the 
whole  of  the  sermon,  and  discovered  the  most  seri- 
ous attention.  M  De  Lorry  told  Mr.  S.  that  the 
Prince  was  well  acquainted  with  his  Bible,  and  fol- 
lowed a  plan  and  order  by  which  he  generally  read 
it  through  thrice  every  year.  On  Monday  Mr.  Ster- 
ry waited  on  the  Prince  before  his  departure,  who 
thanked  him  for  his  hospitality  to  the  gentlemen  of 
his  suite,  and  signified  the  pleasure  w'lih  which  he 
had,  on  the  preceding  day,  heard  his<reasonable  and 
useful  discourse.  One  of  the  gentlemen  in  the  Prince's 
suite  had  been,  on  some  occasion,  in  the  French 
army,  under  Pichegru,  where  he  observed  an  order 
and  subordination  much  superior  to  that  in  the 
armies  of  the  allies  and  emigrants:  and  he  under* 
stood  this  strict  order  had  been  established  by  near 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  243 

2000    men    being   shot,  for   plundering   and    other 
crimes.'^ 

"  Some  very  able  and  pious  Missionaries  have  been 
sent  to  different  parts>  from  the  various  societies 
in  England  and  Scotland.  Mr.  Clark,  at  Sierra 
Leone,  whose  labours  were  so  much  blessed  in  this 
city,  to  a  Sunday  morning  school,  and  to  boarding 
schools,  where  he  occasionally  exhorted,  united  zeal 
with  prudence;  and  there  are  now  promising  appear- 
ances of  his  usefulness.  A  Dr.  Vanderkemp,  from 
Holland,  studied  medicine  in  Edinburgh  more  than 
twenty  years  ago,  and  pubh'shed  an  uncommonly  able 
and  ingenious  Thesis.  Afterwards,  he  made  a  great 
figure,  first  in  the  medical  line,  and  subsequently  as 
an  officer  in  the  Dutch  army.  But  all  this  while  he 
was  a  thorough  sceptic,  or  rather  desplser  of  Chris- 
tianity. On  a  fair  and  promising  day,  he,  his  lady, 
and  his  only  child,  went  on  a  pleasure  party  on  the 
water.  A  sudden  water-spout  overturned  the  boat; 
his  lady  and  child  perished;  and  he  was  preserved  in 
a  manner  next  to  miraculous,  by  a  boat  from  the  land 
being  driven  to  the  place  where  he  was  about  to  sink. 
This  deliverance,  however,  made  no  saving  impres- 
sion on  his  mind .  But  on  a  certain  occasion  worldly 
motives  led  him,  notwithstanding  his  unbelief,  to  at- 
tend and  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  A  deep 
conviction  of  guilt  was  made  upon  his  mind,  and  his 
heart  was  soon  opened  to  the  King  of  glory.  He 
immediately  determined  to  devote  himself  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom;  and  being 
warmly  recommended  by  some  worthy  Dutch  minis- 
ters, he  has  offered  himself  to  the  London  Missionary 


MKXOim  OF  9X.   inSBCT. 


V.  to  so  as  ai  MisskwvT  whithcfsoeTcr  tk^ 
^  to  scad  lum.'^ 

50Be  HieBibcrs  of  oor  EdmlMiT^ 

~^ve  HMde  excorsioos,  ospeoaHy 

lod  preaUied  witkoot  ordi> 

^r  received  my  letter  and 

Julv.     When  too  hare 

D  irom  Newr-Yorkj 

^T^.JokoThoBBp- 

JCis  of  COOFtT- 

._v  yours,*' 


*^T  J  was-dated  the  1st 

:  el  were  sent  o« 


^  Xotwithstatmlir  -  :*  oar  allies 

IB  SwiixeKaod,  It^ly  ii^d  Z .  of  the 

French  aod  SpMiish  fieeisi^.:.  .  .^ming 

event,  which  I  leu*  b  little  bid  Whether 

the  J  are  intended  ibr  the  Bist  I  or 

fix-  Irebnd,  if  providence  pre  - 
■weting  them,  or  giving  them 
qpitom  maj  prove  moat  d 
of  <Mu-  eonntrj  b  still  more 

e^try  senenllj  cry  ont  a^i  5. 


RESIDENCE  IN   THE  UNITED  STATES.  245 

their  manner  of  spending  the  Sabbath  makes  their 
sincerity  doubtful.     The  peculiar  doctrines   of  the 
Gospel  are  seldom  preached   upon  by  some  who  do 
not  directly  oppose  them:  or,  if  mentioned  at  all,  are 
expressed  in  cold  and  ambiguous  language.    Many  in 
the  lowest  ranks  are  tinctured  with  infidelity.     Mr. 
Robert  Haldane,  of  Airthrie,  who,  some  years  ago, 
broached  anti-monarchical  tenets,  has  formed  a  new 
sect,  and  applied  considerable  sums  for  carrying  on 
their  designs,  a  full  account  of  which  they,  very  pru- 
dently, have  not  published.     His  brother,  at  first  a 
lay-preacher,  but  now  ordained,  and  Mr.  Ewing,  wha 
lately  renounced  his  connexion  with  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  now  profess  the  Tory  creed  of  passive  obe- 
dience and  non-resistance.     They  bring  a  succession 
of  ministers  from  England,  who,  on  Sabbaths,  preach 
in  the  circus,  or  itinerate  through  various    parts  of 
Scotland,  for  five  or  six  weeks,  and  then  return  home. 
Their  professed  object  is,  to  carry  the  pure  gospel  to 
those  parts  of  the  country  which  are   most  in  want 
of  it.     Yet  their  chief  efforts  have    been   directed 
to  Edinburgh,   Glasgow,  Perth,  Dundee,  and   other 
places  blessed  with  faithful  ministers,  of  different  de- 
nominations; and  their  adherents  are  chiefly  gained 
from  some  of  the  most  sound  and  able,  whom  they, 
or  the  strangers    they   employ,  insinuate  are  cold° 
hearted,  because  they  give  not  their  countenance  to 
lay-preaching,  and  other  irregularities.     I  am  sorry 
that  some  who  hourly  declaim  against  these   men, 
promote  the  growth  of  their  party,  both  by  an  unpo- 
pular manner  of  preaching,  and  by  pushing  with  suc- 
cess some  late  measures  in  our  General  Assemblies; 
^1* 


^46  MEJVrOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

for  example — laying  difficulties  and  restrictions  an 
new  Chapels  of  Ease,  which  are  like  to  drive  many 
from  our  Church; — an  act  last  May,  declaring  it 
against  the  constitution  of  our  Church  to  admit  any 
into  our  pulpits  who  have  not  been  licensed  and  or- 
dained by  her  Presbyteries; — -and  a  warning  then 
very  properly  emitted,  against  the  circus  people; 
but  which  has  much  defeated  its  own  design,  by  a 
vague  charge  against  them,  as  entertaining  designs 
hostile  to  civil  government.  For  though  there  may 
be  suspicions  against  some  of  them,  they  amount  not 
to  conclusive  evidence.  Had  only  the  evil  tendency 
of  their  party  been  asserted,  this  might  have  been 
easily  proved,  not  only  by  the  jealousies  and  divis- 
ions which  they  have  excited  among  men  whose 
union  in  the  present  crisis  was  important;  but  by 
some  of  the  ablest  of  them  maintaining  that  even  de- 
fensive war  is  unlawful,  which  must  check  all  effec- 
tual opposition  to  a  French  invasion. ^^ 

^^  We  have  agreeable  accounts  that  Dr.  Vander- 
kemp  has  been  well  received  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  is  soon  to  enter  on  his  mission.  In  his 
voyage,  he  was  the  means  of  preventing,  by  his  per- 
suasion, the  execution  of  the  conspiracy  for  murder- 
ing the  captain  and  sailors,  and  delivering  the  ship 
to  the  French;  and  also  of  converting  several  of  the 
convicts,  who  were  on  their  way  to  Botany  Bay. 
But  I  am  sorry  to  add,  accounts  received  this  day 
make  it  probable  that  the  ship  Duff  has  been  cap- 
tured in  her  second  missionarj'  voyage;  though  oux 
enemies,  on  learning  her  destination,  have  set  the 
njissionariQS  at  libertyc'^ 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  247 

"  I    send    herewith    a  small    parcel  of  books,  of 
which  I  beg  your  acceptance;  and  am,  as  ever, 
^'  Affectionately,  yours,'* 

*'  John  Erskine." 

In  1795,  Dr.  Nisbet's  young,est  daughter,  Alison, 
was  married  to  Dr.  Samuel  M'Coskry,  an  eminent 
physician,  residing  in  Carlisle.  By  him  she  had  a 
number  of  children,  several  of  whom  still  survive. 
Of  these  notice  will  be  taken  hereafter.  This  mat- 
rimonial connection  of  a  second  member  of  his  fa- 
mily formed  another  tie  binding  the  Doctor  to  his 
adopted  country,  and  precluding  all  thought  of  a  re- 
turn to  Scotland. 

The  light  in  which  Doctor  Nisbet  regarded  the 
French  revolution,  was  alluded  to  in  a  preceding 
chapter.  Every  reader  will  recollect  that  the  pe- 
riod covered  by  the  dates  of  the  foregoing  letters, 
was  precisely  that  which  presented  the  most  thrill- 
ing and  revolting  scenes  of  that  great  national  catas- 
trophe. From  the  first,  he  regarded  it  not  only 
with  suspicion,  but  with  fixed  aversion,  and  even  ab- 
horrence. He  considered  it,  from  the  outset,  as  ori- 
ginating with  the  infidel  jjiiilosophers  of  France,  for 
the  overthrow  of  religion  and  of  all  government.  He 
was  accustomed  to  remark,  that,  many  years  before 
the  revolution  commenced,  he  had  discovered  the 
seeds  of  it  vegetating  and  springing  up  in  a  variety 
of  forms,  and  all  indicating  the  exploding  and  de- 
structive materials  that  were  at  work.  He  remarked, 
that  even  in  such  an  article  as  the  French  fans,  and 
other  similar  manufactures  imported  from  that  coun- 
try years  before,  it  was  easy  to  discover  the  presence 


248  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  NISBET, 

of  principles  and  feelings  at  war  with  all  morality 
and  all  order. 

It  is  well  known  that  at  the  commencement  of  the 
French  revolution,  and  even  after  it  had  made  consi- 
derable prog;ress,  a  large  portion  of  the  friends  of  ci- 
vil and  religious  liberty  in  the  United  States  regarded 
it  with  a  favourable  eye.  Recollecting  the  friendly 
aid  yielded  to  us  by  France  in  the  course  of  our  re- 
volutionary contest;  and  considering  that  nation  as 
engaged  in  a  struggle,  very  similar  to  our  own, 
against  oppression,  multitudes  of  our  citizens  not  only 
wished  well  to  what  they  deemed  an  effort  to  esta- 
blish republicanism  in  France,  but  were  strongly 
disposed  to  make  common  cause  with  her  in  her 
war  with  England.  This,  it  is  well  known,  gave 
rise  to  much  diversity  of  opinion  in  our  country; 
excited  the  most  ardent  party  feelings;  and  agitated 
the  nation  in  a  most  distressing  and  alarming  man- 
ner for  a  number  of  years. 

In  this  period  of  painful  agitation,  Doctor  Nisbet 
could  not  think  it  his  duty  to  conceal  either  his 
opinions  or  his  feelings.  He  expressed  both  from 
time  to  time,  with  candour  and  freedom.  And  al- 
though he  resided  in  a  State  which  was  greatly  torn 
by  party  conflicts  on  this  occasion,  and  occupied  an 
office  which  some  considered  as  dictating  a  cautious 
reserve  on  such  a  subject,  his  characteristic  honesty 
would  not  allow  him  to  take  such  a  course.  He 
spoke  freely  and  openly  in  private  and  in  public, 
and  bore  a  decisive  testimony  against  what  he  deem- 
ed a  system  of  infidel  profligacy  and  crime,  under 
the  guise  of  a  love  of  liberty.  In  addressing  the 
students  of  the  college,  as  their  official  instructor  and 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  249 

guide,  and  even  on  some  public  occasions,  he  warned 
his  hearers  against  the  impiety  and  the  enormous 
cruelty  and  Jicentiousness  exhibited  on  a  theatre 
from  which  every  channel  of  Intelligence  brought 
the  most  revolting  and  heart-rending  accounts  of 
bloodshed,  and  every  species  of  Inhuman  and  anti- 
christian  practice.  This  freedom  of  censure,  of 
course,  gave  offence  to  the  advocates  of  the  French 
party,  as  they  were  familiarly  called;  and,  perhaps, 
deterred  some  parents  iVom  sending  their  sons  to  the 
College  over  which  he  presided.  Violent  politicians 
represented  him  as  an  enemy  to  civil  and  religious 
liberty;  and  inferred,  that  he  who  thought  unfavour- 
ably of  the  French  revolution,  must  have  been 
equally  unfriendly  to  that  revolution  which  gave  in- 
dependence to  our  own  country.  It  was  In  vain 
that  he  appealed  to  his  uniform  course  in  favour  of 
America,  and  in  opposition  to  the  war  waged  against 
us  by  the  British  government,  before  he  came  to 
our  country.  It  was  In  vain  that  he  urged  the  utter 
dissimilarity  of  the  struggle  in  France  to  that  which 
gave  freedom  to  the  United  States.  He  insisted, 
that  the  American  revolution  was  commenced  on 
just  and  solid  giounds;  was  carried  on  by  honest, 
enlightened,  noble-minded  patriots;  was  prompted 
by  a  sincere  love  of  rational  liberty;  and  established 
on  a  basis  which  sound  political  and  religious  prin- 
ciples equally  approved.  While  it  was,  in  his  opin- 
ion, notorious  that,  although  there  had  long  been  in 
France  grievious  oppressions  and  abuses,  which 
needed  correction;  yet  that  the  revolution  in  that 
country,  so  far  as  its  leaders  were  concerned,  was 
begun  in  Atheism;  continually  actuated,  not  by  pa- 


250  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

triotism,  but  by  a  hatred  of  all  religion;  by  the  bas- 
est selfisliness,  and  by  that  savage  disregard  of  all 
moral  obligation,  and  all  sober  government,  which  at 
once  disgraced  and  defeated  their  professed  object  of 
pursuit. 

Under  these  painful  impressions,  no  wonder  that 
he  allowed  himself  to  speak  on  this  subject  in  terms 
of  the  strongest  detestation.  The  following  anec- 
dote, while  it  may  amuse  the  reader,  will  serve  at 
once  to  illustrate  and  confirm  our  representation  of 
his  feelings.  Sometime  about  the  year  1794,  when 
he  happened  to  be  in  Philadelphia,  a  gentleman  of 
his  acquaintance  said  to  him — "Well,  Doctor,  what 
are  we  to  think  of  the  French  Revolution  now?" 
*^  Indeed,  man,"  said  he, — "I  can  give  you  a  better 
account  of  that  matter  now  than  ever  before.  What 
I  am  about  to  tell  you  is  no  fable,  but  a  fact  that  re- 
allj  happened  in  my  neighbourhood  lately.  A  poor 
old  woman,  who  is  no  politician,  but  a  plain,  serious 
body,  who  had  been  for  some  time  in  a  gloomy  state 
of  mind,  anxious  about  the  salvation  of  her  soul,  (a 
thing,  by  the  vvay,  that  no  politician  ever  thinks  of,) 
dreamed  that  she  died,  and  went  to  the  bad  place. 
It  seemed  to  her  like  a  great  inclosure,  surrounded 
by  a  high,  massy  wall.  She  knocked  at  the  door, 
when  who  should  open  it  but  his  Satanic  Majesty 
himself.  The  old  woman  expressed  her  surprise 
that  he  should  stoop  to  such  an  office,  and  her  won- 
der that  he  had  not  sent  one  of  his  imps  or  under- 
strappers to  open  the  door.  *  Indeed,  good  woman,^ 
said  he,  '  the  devil  an  imp  or  understrapper  have  I 
left  in  all  my  dominions.     Hell  is  completely  empty. 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  251 

They  have  all  gone  to  help  on  the  cause  of  liberty 
and  equality  in  France." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  such  language 
was  deeply  revolting  to  many.  It  was  often  made 
matter  of  heavy  complaint.  Still,  although  this  ve- 
nerable man  continued,  while  he  lived,  to  endure  the 
suspicions,  and  even,  in  some  cases,  to  be  loaded  with 
the  abuse,  of  violent  demagogues;  yet  such  was  his 
established  character  for  integrity,  benevolence  and 
ardent  piety,  that  even  the  violence  of  party  spirit 
was  disarmed,  and  all  regarded  him  with  real  vene- 
ration, as  an  honest.  Christian  patriot.  And  even 
many  of  those  who  once  disapproved  of  his  senti- 
ments, and  who  hesitated  about  committing  their 
sons  to  his  tuition,  lived  to  see  the  time,  (though,  w^ilh 
regard  to  many  of  them,  he  did  not  live  to  see  it,) 
when  they  were  constrained  to  acknowledge,  that  his 
judgment  on  this  subject  was  more  sound  than  their 
own,  and  his  prediction  of  the  result,  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  actual  catastrophe  of  that  awful 
drama. 

Candour  seems  to  require  from  the  author  of  this 
Memoir  the  acknowledgment,  that  the  last  remark 
applies  in  some  measure  to  himself.  He  was  among 
the  thousands  of  his  countrymen  who  regarded  the 
French  Revolution,  in  its  early  stages,  witii  a  favour- 
able eye,  as  the  triumph  of  the  spirit  of  liberty  over 
misrule  and  oppression;  and  as  promising,  notwith- 
standing all  the  crime  and  bloodshed  with  which  it 
was  attended,  the  ultimate  reign  of  freedom  and  good 
government.  Such  were  the  hopes  which  he  once 
entertained;  and  to  which,  almost  without  hope,  he 
clung,  long  after  every  truly  favourable  aspect  had 


252  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

vanished.     During  this  period  he  maintained  an  in- 
teresting; and  delightful  correspondence  with  the  ve- 
nerated Friend,  whose  memory  it  is  now  his  privi- 
lege and   his  pleasure  to  endeavour  to  embalm.      In 
the  course  of  this  correspondence  that  friend  poured 
out  his  whole  heart  with  the  freedom  of  a  father  to  a 
son.     He  frequently,  indeed,  uttered  sentiments  in 
reference  to  the  French   Revolution  which   the  pre- 
sent writer  could  not  t/ie?i  adojjt,  and  some  to  which 
he  is  constrained  i/et  to  demur.     But  never  did  he 
pen  a  line  which  impaired  the  writer's  confidence  in 
his  piety,  his  benevolence,  or  his  genuine  Christian 
patriotism.     Never  did  the  writer  suffer,  for  a  mo- 
ment, this  honest,  candid  expression   of  his  corres- 
pondent's  feelings,  to  impair  his    deep  veneration. 
And,  in  the  end,  he  was  constrained   to  say,  with 
regard  to  most  of  the  points  then  in  discussion,  that 
his  venerable  friend  was  more  sagacious    and   wise 
than   himself.     And    if  that  friend   was    sometimes 
driven  by  the  enormities  of  French  anarchy,  and  by 
the  real  anomalies  and  excesses  of  American  demo- 
cracy, to  express  sentiments  which  sometimes  appear- 
ed to  militate  with  the  principles  of  true  republican 
freedom,  no  one  who  knew  how  to  appreciate  ster- 
ling integrity,  and  pre-eminent' w^orth,  could  regard 
them  in  any  other  light  than  as  venial  mistakes  aris- 
ing from  the  extreme  sensibility  of  a  great  and  good 
man.     The   truth  is,    no  one    who  remembers    the 
course  of  events  in  the  United  States,  during  the 
nineteen  years  from  1785,  when  Doctor  Nisbet  be- 
came an  American  citizen,  until  1804,  when  he  died, 
will  find  the  least  difficulty  in  understanding  why  a 
Bteady  friend  to  the   rights  and  happiness  of   man 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  253 

should  sometimes  utter  language  manifesting  painful 
disappointment  with  regard  to  the  past,  and  deep  ap- 
prehension with  respect  to  the  future. 

The  following  letter  from  Dr.  Nisbet  to  the  author 
of  this  Memoir,  is  a  specimen  of  the  intercourse 
which  subsisted  between  them  in  that  trying  and 
agitating  period  of  our  country's  history. 

"  Carlisle,  July  6,  1798.'^ 
«  Dear  Sir,'' 

"I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  you 
for  a  long  time;  and  in  my  visit  to  Philadelphia  in 
May  jast,  did  not  find  you  there  occasionally,  as  I 
had  done  sometimes  before.  I  had  resolved  to  visit 
New  York,  but  found  it  impracticable.  I  had  sus- 
pected that  some  coldness  had  taken  place  on  your 
part,  from  I  know  not  what  cause,  as  I  am  not  con- 
scious of  having  given  any  occasion  for  it.  I  cannot 
persuade  myself  that  the  free  communication  of  my 
sentiments  would  have  given  you  offence,  nor  that 
you  should  have  taken  to  yourself  any  thing  that  I 
have  said  of  American  sans  culottes.  I  can  assure 
you  that  it  was  merely  in  jest  that  I  addressed  you 
in  that  character;  and  if  I  had  not  thought  that  you 
were  a  sincere  friend  to  the  government  under  which 
you  live,  I  should  have  had  no  desire  to  correspond 
with  you.*  I  acknowledged  my  obligation  to  you 
for  getting  my  box  of  newspapers  and  pamphlets  out 
of  the  Custom-house,  but  never  heard  whether  you 
received  my  letter.'' 

"  So  great  a  change  of  sentiment  has  taken  place 

*  The  Doctor's  suspicions  were  wholly  groundless.     The  remotest 
thought  of  offence  had  not  been  entertained. 
22 


254  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

among  our  citizens,  in  appearance  at  least,  since  my 
last  letter,  that  I  think  I  may  now  write  you  with 
some  confidence,  as  one    of  the  majority,  without 
fearing  to  give  you  offence.     The    immense   reve- 
rence which  our  citizens  had  for  the  terrible  Repub- 
lic, is  beginning  to  abate,  and  some  of  them  even 
begin  to  suspect  that  Talleyrand  might  possibly  be 
in  the  wrong,  when  he  demanded  only  the  small  sum 
of  twenty  five  millions  of  dollars  from  us  by  way  of 
tribute;  though  others  affect  to  wonder  that  he  asked 
so  little.     They  say  that  the  French  are  still  willing 
to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  us.     Now  as  friendly 
communication  consists  in  giving  and  receiving,  when 
they  found  us  averse  to  giving,  they  endeavour  to 
try  our  friendship  in  the  way  of  r^^ceiving,  having 
lately  made  us  a  present  of  700  sa?is  culottes,  inclu- 
ding 300  negroes  and  mulattoes,  of  equal  value  with 
the  rest.     You  might  have  heard  that  nine  vessels, 
laden  with   these  precious  commodities,  are  now  at 
Philadelphia,  and  that  twenty-nine  other  vessels,  no 
less  richly  laden,  are  soon  expected  there.     We  hear, 
likewise,  that  some  vessels  are  gone  to  New-York; 
though  perhaps  your  aristocratic  Governor  may  not 
be  willing  to  receive  them,  especially  if  their  num- 
ber is  less  than  that  of  those  who  are  sent  to  this 
state.     But  ive    are   happy    in   having    a    Governor 
wholly   devoted  to  the  sans  cu/otte  interest,   who, 
though  he  scruples  to  receive  the  negroes  and  mulat- 
toes, on  account  of  the  law   ogainst  the  importation 
of  slaves,  yet  has  no  objection  to  receive  tiie  French 
citizens,  as  those  that  we  have  got  already  have  not 
been  so  diligent  in   burning  our  towns,  and   revolu- 
tionizing our  citizens  as  the  Directory  had  reason  to 


RESIDENCE    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  255 

expect.  But  as  Congress  have  taken  the  business 
into  their  hands,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  they  may  de- 
clare against  all  communication  with  the  French, 
either  in  the  way  of  giving  or  receiving.  And  if 
this  is  the  case,  how  shall  B —  receive  his  pension? 
What  will  become  of  J — ,  and  G — ,  and  G — ,  and  all 
those  who  depend  on  the  bounty  of  the  terrible  Re- 
public?" 

"J^iu-  democrats  will,  no  doubt,  be  glad  that  M. 
Genet  has  received  a  large  packet  from  the  Directory, 
which  will  be  a  seasonable  supply  to  them  after  the 
great  expenses  they  must  have  incurred  by  celebrat- 
ing the  successes  of  the  terrible  Republic.  Do  you 
know  whether  he  makes  his  distribution  at  his  coun- 
try seat  on  Long  Island,  or  in  the  hall  of  the  demo- 
cratic society  in  your  city?  I  hear  that  New  York 
has  been  affected,  though  very  moderately,  with  that 
change  of  opinion  which  has  taken  place  in  this  state; 
though  I  believe  that  many  of  our  new  converts  are 
not  sincere.  We  are  impatient  to  hear  of  the  inva- 
sion of  England;  but  that  project  is  now  said  to  be 
laid  aside,  which  must  occasion  great  sorrow  to  our 
democratic  societies.  If  our  government  is  able  to 
prevent  our  citizens  from  trading  to  the  West  Indies, 
the  French  might  probably  be  soon  starved  out  of 
those  islands;  but  as  we  hear  that  many  American 
citizens  are  found  on  board  those  privateers  which 
are  desti-oying  our  trade,  it  is  probable  that  those  of 
the  same  disposition,  who  remain  at  home,  may  be 
no  less  (liligent  in  supplying  the  French  with  provi- 
sions; and  we  hear  that  some  lately  supplied  them 
with  arms  and  ammunition.  We  are  really  a  divid- 
ed people,  as  Talleyrand  says;  though  I  hope  not  SQ 


256  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

mucli  divided  as  he  supposes.  If  our  government 
had  the  courage  to  seize  and  hang  some  of  those  mis- 
creants who  rob  their  countrymen,  it  might,  perhaps, 
be  a  terror  to  the  rest.'^ 

"  We  have  heard  nothing,  as  yet,  of  the  success  of 
our  armed  ships.  The  French  have  done  their  ut- 
most to  intimidate  our  seamen,  by  declaring  that 
they  will  give  no  quarter  lo  such  as  make  any  resist- 
ance to  the  terrible  Republic.  Who  would  have  ex- 
pected to  live  to  see  the  Pope  become  the  poorest 
clergyman  in  Christendom?  Yet  this  is  the  case  at 
present.  Had  it  happened  in  the  reign  of  Ganga- 
nelli,  who  was  a  Franciscan,  it  would  have  been 
much  less  calamitous,  as  it  would  have  only  given 
him  an  opportunity  of  performing  his  vow  of  pover- 
ty, which  he  had  taken  in  entering  into  that  order. 
Some  are  weak  enough  to  think  that  Popery  is  at  an 
end,  by  this  misfortune  of  the  Pope:  but  Popery 
exists  in  the  minds  of  men,  and  exists  not  in  the 
pockets  of  the  Popes,  or  in  the  walls  of  Rome." 

'^  I  long  to  hear  that  the  French  army  has  turned 
against  the  Directory,  and  that  their  new  conquests 
have  revolted,  as  I  suppose  this  must  happen  some 
time  or  other;  and  until  that  infernal  republic  is 
overturned,  I  see  no  prospect  of  peace  for  America, 
or  the  rest  of  the  world.  It  is  happy  for  us  that  the 
ports  of  France  are  blockaded  up  by  the  British 
fleets,  though  many  of  our  wise  citizens  would  wish 
that  those  fleets  which  are  our  present  protection, 
were  sunk  in  the  ocean.  You  must  have  read  Pro- 
fessor Robison's  '  Proofs  of  a  Conspiracy.'  It  might 
have  been  entitled  *  Satan's  Invisible  World  Disco- 
vered;' as  it  lays  open  a  scene  of  villany  worthy  of 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  257 

that  great  philosopher,  and  calculated  for  extending 
his  dominions  over  all  the  world.  I  know  that 
some  of  our  scms  culottes  affect  to  treat  it  as  a  work 
of  mere  imagination,  though  tlie  facts  related  in  it 
are  clothed  with  complete  historical  evidence.  Per- 
haps they  may  say  the  same  thing  of  the  account  of 
the  behaviour  of  the  French  in  Suabia,  v/hich  has 
been  lately  published:  but  facts  cannot  be  put  out  of 
existence  by  reasonings,  nor  erased  from  the  records 
of  time,  in  order  to  save  the  reputation  of  republican 
soldiers.  If  an  account  of  all  the  enormities  com- 
mitted by  the  French  in  sundry  parts  of  Europe, 
could  be  collected,  it  Would  compose  the  most  shock- 
ing volume  in  all  the  history  of  mankind.  Yet  there 
are  not  a  few  among  us,  who  wish  to  see  them  in 
this  country,  and  who  hope,  by  their  assistance,  to  re- 
generate, that  is,  to  overturn  the  federal  govern- 
ment." 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear  from  you  with  your  con- 
venience,   and   to   be    assured    that    I    have   given 
you  no  offence;   being,  my  dear  sir," 
"  With  much  regard," 

"  Your  sincere  friend," 

"  Charles  Nisbet." 

''Rev.  Dr.  Miller,  New  York.'' 

After  perusing  the  foregoing  remarks  and  let- 
ter, the  following  letter,  to  a  venerated  friend  in 
Scotland,  will  not  surprise  the  reader: 

*'  To  the  Rev.  Dr.  Paton,  Craig,  near  Montrose,  North  Britain." 
"  Carlisle,  October  lOth,  1799." 
"  JRev.  a?id  dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  was  favoured  with  yours  of  the  23d  of  July,  a 

22* 


25S  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

few  days  ago.  I  answered  that  of  March  12th,  soon 
after  I  received  it.  I  have  reason  to  be  thankful 
that  1  and  my  wife  and  family  are  still  in  pretty 
good  health.  Though  the  yellow  fever  is  raging  in 
Philadelphia  and  New  York,  this  season  has  been 
with  us  very  healthy.  It  is  long  before  we  can  hear 
of  the  transactions  of  Europe.  We  are  impatient  to 
hear  of  the  success  of  the  secret  expedition  from 
England, — the  fate  of  the  French  fleet, — and  that  of 
Buonaparte's  army  in  Syria,  as  well  as  of  the  issue  of 
the  *  infernal' commotion  in  Paris.  The  success  of 
the  Russians  in  Italy,  and  of  the  Austrians  in  Swit- 
zerland, leads  us  to  hope  that  that  great  nest  of  vipers 
which  has  so  long  plagued  France,  and  all  Europe, 
will  soon  be  crushed.  But  you  will  have  the  satis- 
faction of  hearing  it  long  before  us.  I  am  sorry  for 
the  consequences  of  restraining  the  missionaries,  and 
the  erection  of  a  new  society  of  Dissenters  among 
you.*  Being  hindered  from  preaching  to  the  heathen 
abroad,  they  have  revenged  themselves  by  preaching 
it  to  the  heathen  at  home,  of  whom  no  doubt  you  have 
not  a  few.  And  though  this  may  be  called  preaching 
Christ  out  of  strife  and  envy,  yet  your  General  As- 
sembly have  shown  a  spirit  directly  opposite  to  that 
of  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  tells  us  that  he  rejoiced  on 
an  occasion  of  the  like  nature;  whereas  they  have 
been  so  far  from  rejoicing,  that  they  have  got  into  a 
violent  passion  against  the  missionaries,  and  forbid 
their  members  to  encourage  them,  or  to  employ  them, 
by  which   means  they  have   erected   a  new  sect  of 

*  There  is  here  a  reference  to  obstacles  thrown  in  the  way  of 
missionaries  in  the  east,  by  the  British  government,  together  with 
the  consequences  of  these  prohibitory  acts. 


RESIBENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  259 

Dissenters,  who  will  naturally  associate  with  the  en- 
emies of  government,  after  having  been  so  ill  treated 
by  it.'^ 

"When    Mr.  Whitefield    itinerated   in  Scotland, 
some   ministers  employed  him,  and  others  not;  but 
when  an  overture  was  brought  in   to   inhibit   them 
from  employing  him,  the  Assembly  v^isely  rejected 
it,  and  declared   that  the  employing  or  not  employ- 
ing Mr.  Whitefield,  should  not  be  made   a   term  of 
communion;  by  which  moderate  conduct,  no  schism 
took  place.     How   wise   would  it  have  been  to  have 
imitated  this  conduct  on  the  present  occasion!      Soon 
after,  Mr.  Whitefield  came  over  to  America;  but  our 
clergy  at  that  time  not  being  so  wise  as  yours,  those 
who   employed  him  broke  off  all   connection  with 
those   who  did   not,   and   these   with  the  othd's;  by 
which  folly,  a  schism  took  place  in  the  Presbyterian 
body,  which   was  scarcely  at  an  end  when  I  arrived 
in  this  country.     But  your  General  Assembly   have 
chosen  to  imitate  the  folly  of  this  latter  course,  rather 
than  the  wisdom  of  their  own  predecessors.     I  have 
never  heard  of  any  measure  of  the  British  govern- 
ment since  the  Revolution,  that  even  resembled  per- 
secution; but  this  violent  proceeding  of  Henry  Dun- 
das  amounts  to   persecution  in  the   most  gross  and 
criminal  sense  of  the  word.     Mr.  Dundas  is  like  the 
dog  in  the  manger,  in  the  Fable  of  JEtsopj  as  he  will 
neither  profit    by  the   Gospel    himself,    nor   suffer 
others  to  profit  by  it,  if  he  can  hinder  them.     Such 
conduct  was  never  heard  of  in  any  other  Christian 
country.      The   Roman   Catholics  have  been   com- 
mended  even  by  Protestant  writers  for  their  dili- 
gence in  propagating  their  religion  in  Heathen  and* 


260  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISBE'F. 

Mahommeclati  countries.  But  no  Roman  Catholic 
missionary  was  ever  prohibited,  either  by  any  Pope 
or  Roman  Catholic  Prince,  from  visiting  any  country 
whatever  with  the  view  of  propagating  the  Chris- 
tian religion;  far  less  did  they  ever  attempt  to  ex- 
clude them  from  any  part  of  their  own  dominions. 
Such  cruelty  and  absurdity  seem  to  have  been  reserved 
for  Protestant  governments;  and  I  am  sorry  that  the 
only  instance  of  it  should  have  been  found  in  the 
government  of  GreatBritain.  The  Assembly  ought 
rather  to  have  petitioned  government  to  permit  the 
emigration  of  these  innocent  ecclesiastics,  and  endea- 
voured to  convince  them  that  the  Gospel  was  never 
reckoned  a  contraband  commodity  by  any  Christian 
nation,  nor  supposed  to  have  a  tendency  to  produce 
any  harm  to  society:  that  if  government  did  not 
think  these  missionaries  the  fittest  persons  for  propa- 
gating the  Christian  religion,  the  design,  at  least,  was 
laudable,  and  their  zeal  might  evaporate,  not  only 
innocently,  but  profitably  in  India;  whereas  if  it  were 
violently  restrained,  it  might  produce  a  convulsion 
that  might  endanger  both  Church  and  State,  as  has 
actually  been  the  case.  The  Missionaries  must 
know  that  they  have  been  unjustly  and  cruelly  treat- 
ed by  government,  and  they  must  feel  the  indignity 
of  being  the  only  persons  that  are  oppressed  in  a  free 
nation.  And  can  it  be  expected  that  they  will  he 
friends  to  that  government  which  has  made  them  the 
only  victims  of  its  injustice?  The  Roman  Catholic 
clergy  of  France  were  kindly  received  and  support- 
ed, and  permitted  to  propagate  their  religion  in  Eng- 
land; but  it  seems  that  Protestant  clergymen  are 
dangerous  persons,  and  not  fit  to  be  tolerated  even 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  261 

in  a  heathen  country!  Such  persecution  may  be  ex- 
pected to  draw  down  the  vengeance  of  heaven  on  the 
government  that  is  guilty  of  it;  and  1  confess  I  am 
more  apprehensive  for  the  fate  of  Great  Britain,  on 
account  of  this  unexampled  persecution,  than  from 
all  the  armaments  of  the  French,  and  all  the  plots  of 
revolutionists  and  reformers.^^ 

"  But  while  I  say  this,  I  do  not  commend  the  con- 
duct of  the  Missionaries.  They  ought  rather  to  have 
gone  to  the  East  Indies  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  or 
through  Turkey  and  Persia,  than  to  have  encouraged 
division,  and  kindled  the  torch  of  discord  in  their 
native  country." 

"  Unius  ob  noxani  et  furias  Henrici  Dundas." 

"But  in  this  case  there  seems  to  have  been  a  strife 
betwixt  the  JNIissionaries,  Henry  Dundas,  and  the 
General  Assembly,  which  of  them  should  show  them- 
selves the  greatest  fools.  And,  in  the  competition, 
the  General  Assembly,  who  had  the  example  of  the 
others  before  them,  are,  undoubtedly,  entitled  to  the 
preference." 

"  I  have  not  yet  seen  Dr.  Erskine's  Sermons;  but 
I  suppose  that  they  are  in  a  parcel  which  he  informs 
me  that  he  had  sent,  but  which  I  have  not  yet  receiv- 
ed. I  congratulate  you  on  your  new  church,  and 
think  that,  excepting  its  size,  it  will  be  better  filled  by 
an  old  minister,  such  as  you,  than  by  many  of  those 
who  have  lately  come  up.  Your  heritors  ought  to 
give  you  an  assistant  after  so  long  an  incumbency; 
but  generosity  to  ministers  is  none  of  the  vices  of 
the   present  age.     When  the  inhabitants  are  once 


262  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISEET. 

assembled  in  their  winter  quarters,  I  shall  direct  in- 
quiry to  be  made  for  the  person  you  mention,  though 
it  is  very  difficult  and  often  impossible  to  discover 
emigrants  in  a  country,  where  few  people  continue 
any  time  in  the  same  place.  The  summer  has  been 
very  hot  and  dry  in  this  country,  though  the  heat 
did  not  set  in  early.  The  springs  were  mostly  dried, 
and  the  grass  and  hay  consumed  by  the  grasshoppers, 
before  the  sun  could  burn  it  up;  and  the  cattle  would 
have  perished  for  want,  if  we  had  not  got  plentiful 
rains  in  the  end  of  August,  and  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember, which  produced  a  new  crop  of  grass.  The 
wheat  crops  were  scanty,  and  the  potatoes,  indian 
corn,  and  buckwheat,  were  almost  totally  ruined  by 
the  drought.  Our  vessels  are  daily  taken  and  plun- 
dered by  the  French;  but  our  citizens  do  not  com- 
plain, as  they  say  the  French  are  their  friends.  But 
when  any  of  them  are  taken  by  the  English,  with 
French  or  Spanish  property  aboard,  they  cry  out 
bitterly,  and  set  no  bounds  to  their  resentment.  We 
are  a  weak,  foolish,  and  divided  people;  and  nothing 
prevents  our  being  subdued  by  the  French,  but  that 
the  English  fleet  keeps  them  at  home,  and  gives  them 
full  employment.  But  we  are  so  far  from  being 
thankful  to  them  for  this  service,  that  they  are  the 
constant  objects  of  the  imprecations  of  the  sans  cu- 
lotte  paity  among  us.  A  republic  is  often  said  to  be 
the  cheapest  form  of  government;  but  if  we  consi- 
der the  frequency  and  expense  of  elections,  it  may 
be  said  to  be  the  dearest  of  all.  This  year,  we  have 
an  election  of  a  Governor;  and  I  believe  it  will  cost 
this  State  more  than  half  a  million  of  dollars,  by  the 
mere  interruption  of  business,  and,  perhaps,  a  great- 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  263 

er  sum  in  drink,  canvassing,  and  distributing  hand- 
bills. But  this  is  not  all.  The  king  of  Spain,  whose 
ambassador  here  is  son-in-law  to  the  democratic  can- 
didate for  Governor,  is  supposed  to  have  expended 
a  greater  sum  still  in  private  donations  to  dema- 
gogues and  agents,  for  procuring  votes,  which  will 
be  charged  for  secret  services/^ 

"  If  your  people  were  wise,  they  would  see  that 
the  right  of  universal  suffrage,  which  they  so  fool- 
ishly contend  for,  is  a  nuisance  and  not  a  blessing,  as 
it  reduces  elections  to  a  mere  lottery,  in  which  de- 
magogues have  the  disposal  of  the  prizes,  and  ninety- 
nine  parts  in  a  hundred  of  the  electors  know  nothing 
of  either  of  the  candidates,  and  often  care  as  little. 
We  are  not  yet  certain  that  the  democratic  candi- 
date for  governor  is  chosen,  as  the  election  was  only 
on  the  Slh  instant,  and  all  the  votes  in  the  different 
counties  must  be  sent  to  the  capital  and  numbered 
before  the  successful  candidate  can  be  declared.  But 
as  he  had  aids  to  which  the  other  candidate  had  no- 
thing to  oppose,  it  is  considered  as  almost  certain 
that  he  will  have  the  majority." 

"The  JNIillennium  has  been  of  late  a  subject  of 
speculation  here.  Some  of  our  ignorant  clergy  have 
imagined  that  it  began  with  the  French  Rovolution! 
But  it  is  strange  that  tlie  reign  of  Atheism  should  be 
called  the  rei^n  of  Christ.  A  minister  in  jNew  Jer- 
sey  lost  his  senses  by  studying  tlie  prophecies  re- 
specting th.e  Pvlillennium,  or  rather  by  endeavouring 
to  reconcile  it  to  his  own  notions.  After  having  set 
a  day  for  its  commencement,  and  being  disappointed, 
he  turned  Anabaptist,  and  re-baptised  some  of  his 
congregation,   wdio   were  as  mad  as  himself.     In  a 


264  MEMOIR  Of    DR.  NISfiEf. 

little  while  he  turned  Episcopalian;  ant!  soon  after* 
wards  he  expended  an  ample  patrimony  of  his  own, 
and  all  that  he  could  collect  from  hisfriends,in  erecting 
immense  buildings,  for  stowing  the  goods  and  money 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  which  he  imagined  they  were 
to  leave  in  his  custody,  while  they  were  to  proceed, 
poor  and  penniless,  to  take  possession  of  the  land  of 
Canaan.  It  is  plain  that  he  knew  nothing  of  Jews 
when  he  imagined  that  they  were  to  leave  their  mo- 
ney and  goods  behind  them;  though,  if  they  expect- 
ed to  be  restored  by  Buonaparte,  that  would  have 
been  a  very  wise  measure,  as  he  would  have  imme- 
diately confiscated  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  '  great 
nation.'  But  this  reverie  took  place  long  before 
the  expedition  to  Egypt.  Enthusiasm  and  Infidelity 
seem  mutually  to  produce  each  other.  I  have  just 
now  been  reading  a  German  newspaper,  published 
at  York,  in  this  neighbourhood,  wherein  it  is  assert- 
ed ihat  Buonaparte  is  the  Saviour  mentioned  in 
Isaiah  xix.  20;  that  Bonnier  and  Eoherjot  are  the 
*  two  witnesses^  mentioned  in  the  Revelation,  and 
the  two  olive  trees  in  Zechariah,  as  being  ministers 
of  peace.  And  I  was  lately  assured  by  a  clergyman 
of  credit,  that  a  distinguished  Physician  of  Philadel- 
phia had  given  it  as  his  opinion,  that  the  expedition 
of  Buonaparte  into  Syria  was  to  be  understood  by 
the  '  high  way  out  of  Egypt  into  Assyria,'  Isaiah  xix. 
23.  Dr.  Bryce  Johnston's  commentary  on  the  Reve- 
lation is  the  best  that  I  have  met  with;  though  the 
Millennium  is  still,  and  ought  to  be,  as  long  as  it  is 
future,  involved  in  obscurity." 

"The    Socinian    and    anarchical    publications   in 
England  and  Germany,  seem  to  be  more  prejudicial 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  265 

to  religion  than  direct  infidelity,  as  they  seduce  many 
to  renounce  Christianity  before  they  are  aware  of  it. 
Buonaparte's  adventures  seem  to  be  almost  at  an  end 
by  the  defeat  at  St.  John  D'Acre,  and  Sir  Sidney 
Smith  has  had  a  noble  opportunity  of  being  revenged 
on  the  French,  for  the  cruel  usage  he  met  with  v^^hen 
a  prisoner  among  them.  It  is  manifest  that  the 
French  despair  of  Buonaparte's  success,  by  their 
having  denounced  those  who  sent  him  on  his  anti- 
Crusade,  and  by  their  sending  him  no  reinforcements. 
Italy  seems  to  be  once  more  free,  as  we  expect  soon 
to  hear  that  the  French  are  driven  from  Geneva;  and 
the  deliverance  of  Switzerland  may,  perhaps,  be  as 
sudden  as  its  conquest.  When  will  men  be  at  peace 
with  one  another?  The  eighteenth  century  seems 
to  go  out  very  bloody  and  threatening,  and  God  only 
knows  how  the  nineteenth  is  to  set  in.'^ 

"I  am  rather  uneasy  at  the  rendezvous  of  the 
French  and  Spanish  fleets  at  Brest;  though  it  announ- 
ces their  complete  disappointment  with  respect  to 
their  interests  in  Italy  and  Egypt.  It  is  too  near 
England  and  Ireland  to  be  beheld  without  concern. 
As  in  the  American  war,  the  combined  fleets  only 
played  at  bo-peep  with  the  English,  and  returned, 
without  doing  mischief,  to  their  native  shores,  I  have 
hopes  that  the  same  will  be  the  case  at  present,  espe- 
cially as  they  were  both  stronger  and  more  united 
than  they  can  be  now.  Yet  till  they  are  disposed  of, 
or  driven  away  with  disgrace,  I  am  not  without  ap- 
prehension for  Great  Britain.  There  are  still  many 
traitors  and  malcontents  in  all  the  three  kino-doms: 
so  that  perhaps  Henry  Dundas  may  not  find  it  so 
easy  to  keep  the  French  out  of  England,  as  to  keep 
23 


266  MEMOIR  OP  DR.  NISBET. 

the  missionaries  out  of  India.  But  I  hope  for  better 
things.  We  are  told  that  the  secret  expedition  to 
Flanders  or  Holland  is  not  to  be  given  up  on  account 
of  the  return  of  the  hostile  fleets  to  Brest,  and  the 
French  Directory  are  so  distressed  at  home,  that  they 
cannot  find  out  any  army  that  could  be  formidable 
to  Great  Britain,  especially  after  Buonaparte  had  de- 
clined that  expedition,  and  chosen  rather  to  engage 
with  Turks  and  Mamelukes.  The  state  of  suspense 
is  a  painful  one;  yet  in  this  I  must  be  content  to  re- 
main, till  I  hear  of  the  destruction  or  dispersion  of 
the  combined  fleets,  on  which  I  think  the  safety  of 
this  country,  as  well  as  that  of  Great  Britain  depends 
at  present.  Our  malcontents  would  hide  their  dimi- 
nished heads,  and  disown  their  rebellious  principles, 
when  they  were  no  longer  supported  by  the  French 
Republic,  or  encouraged  by  successes." 

"The  Pope  is,  infallibly,  in  a  ticklish  situation  in 
France,  and  the  respect  paid  him  by  the  remains  of 
the  Roman  Catholics  will,  perhaps,  cost  him  the  loss 
of  his  head,  unless  the  Directory  have  hopes  of  a 
ransom  from  the  Catholic  princes  in  the  negociations 
for  peace,  which  I  hope  is  not  far  oflf;  though  I  think 
no  armistice  ought  to  be  agreed  to,  till  France  is 
stript  of  all  her  conquests,  and  content  to  submit  to  a 
limited  monarchy.  Indeed,  an  absolute  one  is  too 
good  for  them.  If  it  be  true  that  the  king  of  Prussia 
has  acceded  to  the  coalition,  the  business  might  soon 
be  over.  R€member  me  kindly  to  any  in  your 
neighbourhood  who  have  not  foigotten  me,  and  let 
me  hear  frequently  of  your  welfare,  and  that  of  all 
friends  with  you.     I  remain,  with  unfeigned  esteem, 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  2^7 

Rev.    and  dear  Sir,  your  very   humble   servant," 

"  Charles  Nisbet." 
''  l^^:^^.rMiUer,  'New  York,'' 

The  venerable  friend  and  correspondent  to  whom 
the  foregoing  letter  was  directed,  was  considerably 
more  advanced  in  life  than  Dr.  Nisbet,  and  survived 
him  for  several  years.  He  died  in  the  year  1811,  full 
of  yeai*s,  and  of  those  sanctified  honours  with  which  it 
is  the  happiness  of  the  piaus  and  devoted  minister  of 
religion  to  close  his  fitithful  labours. 

Toward  the  close  of  A.  D.  1800,  the  last  year  of 
the  18th  century,  the  writer  of  this  Memoir,  then  a 
pastor  in  the  city  of  New-York,  resolved  to  take 
public  notice  of  the  close  of  one  century,  and  the 
commencement   of    another,    in    a    discourse    from 
the  pulpit.     This  purpose  he  accordingly  fulfilled 
on  the  first  day  of  January,   ISftl;  and  out  of  that 
Sermon  afterwards  grew,  unexpectedly,  the  enlar- 
ged  plan   which  issued    in  his  "Retrospect  of  the 
Eighteenth  Century,"  in  two  actavG  volumes.     A 
few   weeks  before  the  day  just  mentioned,  he  ad- 
dressed a  letter  to  his  learned  and  venerated  Friend 
at   Carlisle,  intimating   his  purpose,  and    soliciting 
from  him  any  suggestions  which  might  aid  in  execu- 
ting his  plan.     That  Friend   was  then  in  advanced 
life,  in  declining  health,  and  in  circumstances,  on  a 
variety  of  accounts,  unfavourable  to  any  response  on 
an  extended  scale.     Yet  his    compliance   with   the 
request  made,  was  prompt,  and  as  will  be  seen,  both 
extended  and  able.     The  following  characteristic  an- 
swer will  show  a  mind  awake  to  all  the  occurrences 
of  the  day,  and  especially  sensitive  with  regard  to 
every  thing  which  had  a  bearing  on  the  interests  of 
good  morals  and  religion. 


268  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

"  Carlisle,  IGth  Dec.  1800." 
''  Bear  Sir,'' 

"  Your  design  of  preaching  the  funeral  sermon  of 
the  ISth  century  is  pious  and  rational.  It  is  fit  that 
you  should  celebrate  the  Mother  that  bore  you;  and 
her  character  is  large  and  various  enough  to  afford 
numerous  topics  of  praise  and  blame." 

"Perhaps  the  most  distinguishing  character  of  the 
age,  is  the  spirit  of  free  inquiry,  which  has  been  so 
prominent,  and  which  indeed  has  been  carried  almost 
to  madness.  I  was  born  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of 
it,  when  it  was  rather  past  its  vigour;  and,  of  late? 
when  it  seems  to  be  past  child-bearing,  it  teems  with 
the  most  monstrous  and  mis-shapen  productions. 
Air-Balloons;  the  Rights  of  Man;  the  Sovereignty  of 
the  People;  and  the  Guillotine,  are  the  productions 
of  its  dotage  and  decrepitude.  The  arts  of  destruc- 
tion have  been  improved  beyond  the  examples  of 
former  ages.  Fusillades,  Royades,  and  massacres  of 
six,  seven  or  eight  hundred  men  or  women  at  a  time, 
have  been  among  its  chief  discoveries.  Its  love  of 
scepticism  has  only  been  equalled  by  its  hardiness 
of  decision.  Having  proscribed  the  love  of  system, 
it  is  not  shocked  with  the  grossest  contradiction. 
Hence  an  unrestrained  liberty  of  thought,  speech, 
publication  and  action,  has  been  combined  with  an 
obligation  to  universal  soldiership,  though  no  two 
things  more  incompatible  with  each  other  can  be 
conceived  by  the  human  imagination.  And  as  old 
people  are  twice  children,  the  present  age,  in  the 
progress  of  decrepitude,  is  busy  in  vamping  up  old 
publications,  and  reviving  old  exploded  errors,  such 
as  Atheism,  Socinianism,  and  what  seems  the  la,st, 


BESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  2Wr 

stage  of  delirium,  the  indifference  to  all  opinions  in 
religion.     Yet  this  is  established  by  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  in  all  our  state  constitu- 
tions.    The  equality  of  the  opinions  of  one  God, 
twenty  Gods,  or  no  God,  is  affirmed  in  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son^s   ^  Notes  on  Virginia,'  and  seems  to  be  becom- 
ing the  established  creed.      By  the  way,  I  have  just- 
heard  with  sorrow  that  he  has  been  chosen  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  Burr  Vice-President. 
God  grant    us   patience    to    endure   their   tyranny! 
Though  it  would   appear  by   Buonaparte's  drinking 
to  the  "  Sixteen  United  Departments,"  at  the  enter- 
tainment which   he  gave  to  our  Ambassador,  that  he 
considers  the  sixteen  United  States  as  a  part  of  his 
dominions.     You  must  not  forget  some  great  *  disco- 
veries-'  which  have  been  made  in  the  course  of  the 
century  which  you  propose  to  celebrate.     Dr.  Hurt^ 
ley  has  discovered  that  the  soul  of  man  is  material, 
by  which  Dr.  Priestley,  and  some  of  our  own  dis- 
tinguished Savans,  have  been   greatly  enlightened. 
Lord  Monboddo,  in  his  "  Essay  on  the  Origin  of  Lan- 
guage," has  discovered  that  all  men  were  originally 
beasts,  and  by  passing  successively  through  the  state 
and  nature  of  Dogs,  Foxes,  Jackalls,  Monjieys,  ^nd; 
Ourang  Outangs,  at  last  arrived  at  the  vocality  and, 
rationality  of  human  nature.     His  Lordship  consi- 
ders the  race  of  Monkeys,  Baboons,  and.Ourang  Our 
tangs  as  nations  imperfectly  civilized,  but  in  the  way 
to  perfection.     Mr.  Taylor  has  discovered  the  re- 
ality of  the  mythology  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  and; 
revived  the  worship  of  Jupiter,  and  the  other  fabur 
bus  deities  of  Homer.     He  has  made  many  disciples;; 
but   I  know  not  whether  he  has.  obtjiined  Buona- 
23* 


270  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

parte's  license  to  visit  Paris,  and  pay  his  devotions 
to  the  Farnesian  Hercules,  the  Apollo  of  Belvidere, 
and  the  Medicean  Venus,  or  is  obliged  to  worship 
such  copies  and  casts  of  them  as  England  may  afford. 
Biionupnrte,  while  in  Egypt,  discovered  the  truth 
and   divinity  of  the  Mohammedan  religion,  which 
has  been  again  discovered  by  Menoii,  his  successor, 
even  after  Buonaparte  had  subsequentl}^  discovered, 
in  France,  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion.      Tho- 
mas Paine  has  discovered  that  the  people  have  a 
right  to  change   every   form   of  government  every 
hour,  if  they  please.     And  the  constitutional  Clergy 
of  France  have  discovered  that  Christianity  is  an  im- 
posture.    At  the    same  time,    the  whole   people  of 
France  discovered   that  the  body  of  a  naked  prosti- 
tute was  the    supreme  object  of  religious  worship. 
Such  discoveries  surely  cannot  be  matched  in  any 
age  or  nation.     Yet,   after  Nature   and  Reason  had 
been  proclaimed  to  be  the  only  Gods,  Robespierre 
discovered  that  there  was  a  Supreme  Being;  though 
afterwards,  on  recollection,   he  discovered   that  the 
^sovereign  people'  were   the  Supreme  Being,  and 
swore  by  them  accordingly.     It  has  been  discover-, 
ed  that  Republics  are  fond  of  peace,  and  that  mon- 
archs  alone  make  war,  by  those  who  have  destroyed 
all    the    Republics    in    Europe,    except    Hamburgh. 
Buonaparte  has  discovered  that  Liberty  and  Equal-. 
ity  consist  in  an  unconditional  submission  to  the  or- 
der of  one  supreme  Consul;  and  the  whole  people  of 
France,  the  owners  of  this  Liberty  and   Equality, 
have  ratified  the  discovery.    The  Democrats  of  Ame- 
rica have  discovered  that  it   is  for  the   interest  of 
Christianity  to  elect  a  President  who  ia  indifferent 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  271 

whether  the  people  believe  that  there  is  one  God,  or 
twenty  Gods,  or  no  God  at  all.  May  not  this  cen- 
tury be  denominated  the  age  of  discovery?  Mr. 
Godwin  has  discovered  that  government,  religion, 
morality,  marriage  and  property,  are  so  many  en- 
croachments on  the  liberties  of  mankind,  and  that 
gratitude  is  a  vice  and  not  a  virtue.-" 

^' Among  the  inventions  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, you  must  not  forget  to  commemorate  the  fact, 
that  a  Deistical  meeting  was  established  in  London, 
by  David  Williams,  originally  a  dissenting  minister. 
In  this  place  of  worship  they  had  sermons,  prayers, 
&c.  as  in  ordinary  Christian  assemblies.    The  Deists, 
however,   soon  became  weary  of  hearing  sermons; 
and  Williams,  after  two  years,  went  over  to  France, 
and,  by  an  easy  transition,  became  an  Atheist;  came 
back  to  England,  and  formed  a  Liturgy,  and  a  sys- 
tem   of  Psalmody,  adapted  to  atheistical    worship! 
Dr.  Theophilus  Lindsay,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England,  resigned  his  living  in  the  establishment, 
for  a  better  one  among  the  Unitarians  in   London; 
and  prevailed  on  five  other  established  clergymen 
to  do  the  same,  though   they  did   not   gain   so  much 
by  the  exchange  as  he  did.     They  all  became  Socin- 
ians.     One  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Scotland  re- 
signed his  charge  for  the  same  reason;  and  a  popular 
Seceding  minister  declared  himself  a  Deist.    Several 
dissenting  ministers  in   different  parts  of  England 
put  otf  the  clerical  and  Christian  character  at  once, 
and  professed  themselves  Deists.^' 

"  The  revolutions  of  America,  France,  Venice, 
Rome,  Holland,  Naples,  and  Switzerland,  are  among 
the  most  remarkable  events  in  this  century,  and 
Ukely  to  give  birth  to  many  others,  and  have  entire- 


272  MEMOIR   OF    DR.  NISBET. 

]y  changed  the   relative  sidiation  of  the  powers  of 
Europe.     The   increase   of  infidelity   and   atheism, 
and  the  progress  that  the  French  Propagandists  have 
made  in  demoralizing  the  minds  of  men,  in  order  to 
grind   them  down  into  *  citizens,'  is  very  alarming, 
as  it  has  extended  to  the  greatest  part  of  the  civilized- 
world,  and  seems  to  be  still  growing.      The  suppress- 
sion  of  the  Jesuits  would  have  been  noticed  as  a  sur- 
prising event,  if  it  had  not  been  followed  by  many 
others  of  a  much   more  surprising  character.     The 
unprincipled  persecution  of  the  French  clergy,  by 
pretended  philosophers,  who  professed  to  abhor  all 
persecution,   might  have   been    noticed  as  a    signal 
contradiction,  had  not  the  promoters  of  it  renounced 
all  system  and  consistency  of  opinion.     The  murder 
cf  the  kings  of  France  and  Sweden,  and  the  poison- 
ing o£  an  Emperor  and  Empress  of  Germany,   are 
among  the  early  triumphs  ot   Liberty  and  Equality, 
though  those  things  were  reckoned  crimes  in  former 
ages.     An  ignorance  and  contempt  of  antiquity,  and 
a  boundless  rage  for    theory   and   experiment,  has 
been  one  of  the  distinguishing  features  of  this  age; 
and    though   the  rage  for    Liberty  and    Equality  in 
France  has  been  obliged  to  suecumb  into  submission 
to  one  person,  this  circumstance  has  not  in  the  least 
abated  the  same  rag^  in  America,  which  may  soon, 
perhaps,  lead  to  a  similar  despotism,  or,  what  is  more 
probable,  in  subjection  to  the  despot  of  France.  This 
century  is  likely  to  expire  in  blood,  as  the  prospect 
of  a  general  peace  in   Europe  is  still  at  a  distance. 
The  number  of  the  victims  of  war  in  this  century, 
would  constitute  a  very  great  and  powerful  nation^ 
especially  if  we  include  their  possible  posterity." 
*^  With  regard  to:the  g.reat  works  of  the  eighteenth. 


RESIDENCE  IN    THE    UNITED    STATES.  273 

century  in  Poetry,  History,  the  translations  of  classic 
authors,  Greek  and  Latin,  and  especially  the  princi- 
pal works  which  belong  to  the  department  of  Theo- 
logy, Biblical  Criticism,  and  Ecclesiastical  History, 
I  have  reason  to  know  that  you  need  no  suggestion. 
They  are  too  familiar  to  your  mind  to  require  the 
least  hint  from  me.  But  I  hope,  that  in  treating  the 
Biblical  and  Theological  part  of  your  subject,* 
you  will  devote  particular  attention  to  the  rise  and 
progress  of  what  is  emphatically  called  Rationalism 
among  the  divines  of  Germany.  This  is  so  promi- 
nent, so  painful,  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  instruc- 
tive a  feature  in  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the 
18th  century,  that  your  readers,  (if  you  should  print 
what  you  deliver,)  will,  no  donbt,  expect  a  special 
notice  of  a  matter  so  much  talked  of  in  every  eccle- 
siastical circle.  And  as  my  reading  in  German  has 
been  probably  more  extensive  than  yours,  (I  do  not 
remember  whether  you  read  German  at  all,)  I  will 
give  some  sketches  on  the  subject.  The  Divinity  of 
Christ  was  the  first  doctrine  attacked  by  the  Neolo- 
gists,  or  New  Reformers;  and  on  this  head  some  em- 
braced the  Arian,  and  some  the  Socinian  system. 
The  next  was  the  Atonement,  or  Satisfaction  of 
Christ,  in  attacking  which  they  pretended  that  all 
those  expressions  of  our  Saviour  and  his  Apostles 
from  which  this  doctrine  was  inferred,  were  only  in 

*  This  part  of  the  original  plan  of  the  "  Retrospect  of  the  Eigh- 
teenth Century"  was  never  executed.  When  the  author  had  com- 
pleted the  first  part  on  "  The  Revolutions  and  Improvement  in  Sci- 
ence, Arts,  and  Literature,  during  that  period,"  the  remainder  of  the 
subject  appeared  so  to  swell  under  his  hands,  that  he  did  not  dare  to 
pursue  it. 


274  MEMOIR  OF  DB.  NISBET. 

condescension  to  Jewish  prejudices.  Under  this 
head  they  reckoned  the  quotatio-ns  fronn  the  Old 
Testiment  prophecies  applied  to  Christ;  his  being 
called  the  Messiah,  the  Son  of  God, — the  Redeemer 
of  Israel.  They  denied  that  his  death  was  a  sacrifice; 
but  insisted  that  it  was  a  mere  martyrdom;  that  he 
was  only  a  teacher  of  morality,  and  natural  religion, 
and  that  by  his  doctrine  he  redeemed  his  followers 
from  idolatry  and  superstition,  from  Levitical  cere- 
monies, and  Jewish  prejudices.  The  third  doctrine 
that  was  attacked  was  that  of  Original  Sin,  or  the  cor- 
ruption of  human  nature,  and  the  loss  of  God's  im- 
age by  the  fall,  the  belief  of  which  thej^  contended, 
was  inconsistent  with  our  natural  notions  of  the  Di- 
vine goodness  and  justice.  The  fourth  doctrine  was 
that  of  Faith.  The  new  reformers  contended  that 
all  that  the  Scriptures  mean  by  Faith,  is  only  the  re- 
ceiving the  doctrines  of  Christ  as  true,  and  living 
according  to  them;  and  some  openly  asserted  that 
we  are  not  boaad  to  believe  the  history  or  miracles 
of  Christ  and  his  Ap.ostles,  but  merely  the  moral 
precepts.  The  fifth  doctrine  was  that  of  the  Sacra- 
ments, to  which  the  Reformers  ascribed  little  or  no 
virtue.  The  sixth  was  the  existence  of  Angels  and 
Devils,  which  the  Neologists  denied,  and  the  eternity 
of  hell-torments,  which  they  maintained  to  be  con- 
trary to  all  reason,.  They  likewise  rejected  Creeds, 
and  Confessions  of  Faith,  as  altogether  inconsistent 
with  freedom  of  inq^uiry.  This  led  to  a  contempt 
of  the  Scriptures,  and  a  doubt  of  their  divine  inspi- 
ration, or  confining  it  to  a  part  of  the  Scriptures, 
Some  confined  inspiration  to  the  New  Testament. 
At  last  they  asserted  that  nothing  in  Scripture  ought 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  275 

to  be  believed  as  coming  from  God,  except  what 
tended  to  promote  the  moral  perfection  of  man. 
Their  rules  of  criticism  and  exposition  of  the  Scrip- 
tures were  adapted  to  this  supposition;  and  they 
seemed  to  labour  to  alter  the  Christian  faith,  so  as 
to  render  it  more  palatable  to  the  Deists." 

"  The  philosophy  of  Leibnitz  and  Wolf,  which  en- 
joins on  all  men  to  think  for  themselves,  and  to  be- 
lieve nothing  of  which  they  could  not  form  distinct 
ideas,  contributed  greatly  to  the  success  of  the  New 
Reformers;  and  led  them  to  expunge  all  mysteries 
and  miracles  out  of  their  creed:  and  the  translation 
of  the  works  of  the  English  Deists  into  German  gave 
them  still  greater  assislance*  Commentaries,  Dic- 
tionaries, and  Literary  Journals  were  employed  for 
propagating  and  recommending  their  new  doctrines, 
by  which  means  many  were  led  to  adopt  them  who 
had  never  read  the  Socinian  or  Deistical  writers. 
In  1779  Dam  published  a  translation  of  the  New 
Testament  according  to  these  views,  which  he  had 
conceived  from  1758.  He  maintained  that  the  books 
of  Moses  are  only  so  far  inspired  as  they  lead  to 
God;  that  the  history  of  the  fall  is  a  fiction;  that  the 
book  of  Job  is  likewise  a  fiction;  and  that  there  are 
many  falsehoods  in  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Joshua; 
that  the  Psalms  contain  contemplations  of  the  divine 
perfections,  but  no  prophecies;  that  all  the  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  are  mere  human  writings;  and 
that  the  historical  books  of  the  New  Testament  are 
written  in  the  taste  and  manner  of  the  ancient  Jews, 
in  which  truth  and  fiction  are  mingled;  that  Jesus  is 
called  the  Son  of  God  merely  because  he  was  a  very 
good  man,  both  in  his  life  and  doctrine:  that  he  was 


276  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

the  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary;  that  his  doctrine  is  pure 
natural  religion;  that  the  truth  of  his  doctrine  does 
not  depend  on  miracles  or  prophecies,  hut  on  its  in- 
ternal worth:  that  his  death  was  not  a  sacrifice  or 
atoneinent  for  sin;  nay  that  he  did  not  really  die  on 
the  cross,  but  fell  into  a  fainting  fit;  and  that  he  was 
taken  out  of  his  grave,  and  restored  to  life  and  health, 
after  which  he  left  the  country  of  Judea.  They 
maintained  that  he  did  not  ascend  into  heaven;  and 
that  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Ghost  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  no  miracle,  but  the  effect  of  a  thunder 
gust,  and  the  credulity  of  the  multitude.  That  when 
the  Evangelists  relate  miracles,  they  are  always  to 
be  explained  according  to  the  laws  of  nature.  That 
there  are  no  mysteries,  nor  revealed  religion.  That 
the  chief  object  of  Christianity  is  morality,  and  no- 
thing more.  That  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  not 
true.  That  there  are  no  angels  nor  devils:  and  that 
when  devils  are  mentioned  in  Scripture,  they  are  to 
be  interpreted  as  meaning  either  bad  men,  or  grievous 
diseases.  That  the  image  of  God  consists  only  in  Rea- 
son which  man  has  not  lost.  That  the  resurrection  of 
the  body  is  only  a  figurative  representation  of  the 
souPscontinuing  to  exist  after  death.  That  the  punish- 
ment of  bad  men  after  death  shall  have  an  end.  That 
what  the  Scripture  says  of  the  day  of  judgment,  and 
the  end  of  the  world,  is  a  mere  allegory.  Such  in 
general  are  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Reformers, 
though  they  are  not  all  agreed  among  themselves. 
Professor  TollneVy'dX  Frankfort  on  the  Oder,  depart- 
ed in  several  points  from  the  established  Confession, 
but  he  w^as  more  discreet  and  less  insolent  than  many 
others.     Sleinbart,  his  successor,  went  further,  and 


RESIDENCE   IN   THE  UNITED  STATES.  277 

rejected  every  ihm^  positive  in  religion,  that  is^  all 
mysteries,  together  with  the  satisfaction  of  Christ, 
and  the  corruption  of  human  nature.     lie  published, 
in  1778,  his  book,  entitled  ^  The  Philosophy  of  Chris- 
tianity separated  from  Hypothesis.^  Professor  Base- 
dow, curator  of  the  Philanthropin  at  Dessau,  was  one 
of  the  first  and  most  zealous  Reformers;  but  he   was 
so  honest  as  to   confess  that  he  was  neither  a  Luthe- 
ran nor  a  Calvinist.     *^.  PF.  Teller,  oi  Berlin,  pub- 
lished a  Dictionary   of  the    New  Testament.     His 
system  was  not  just  the  same  as  that  of  Dam.     The 
Old  Testament,   he  said,  was  for  the  Jews,  the  New 
for  Christains;  of  course  all  those  ideas  and  express- 
ions which   the  New   Testament   borrows  from  the 
Old,  do  not  belong  to  Christian  doctrine.     He  taught 
that  the  Old   Testament   was  inspired  only  in  so  far 
as  God  is  the  author  of  all  spiritual  good;  that  Jesus 
is   God's  only-born  Son,  by   his  partaking  of  the  di- 
vine   nature,  and    being  an  extraordinary  messenger 
sent  from    God   to   men,   and   adopted   by    God  for 
his  Son;  that  he  is  our  Redeemer,  Mediator  and  Sa- 
viour, as  he  has  delivered  us  from  the  torment  of  a 
guilty  conscience,  and  given  us  assurance  of  the  fa- 
vour of  God;  that  as  Mediator,  he  has  by  his  sacrifice 
been  Surety  for  men,  that  God  would  have  them  all 
to  be  saved ;  but  that  his  death  is  only  called  a  ^  sacri- 
fice,' in  compliance  with  the  Jews,  who  were  accus- 
tomed to  sacrifices.     Eberhard,  formerly  minister  at 
Charlottenburgb,  near  Berlin,  and  now  professor  of 
Philosophy   at   Halle,  belongs  likewise  to  the  New 
Reformers,  as  appears  by  his  *  Apology  for  Socrates.' 
Ludke,  a  minister  of  Berlin,  in  his  treatise  on  *  Tole- 
ration,' and  Busching,\.\\Q  consistorial  counsellor,  in 
24 


278  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

his  treatise  on  '  Confessions,'  evidently  avow  their 
connestion  with  the  same  class.  Spalding  and  Sem- 
ler,  but  especially  Dr.  Bardt,  and  Nicolaiy  of  Ber- 
lin, have  contributed  signally  to  the  propagation  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  New  Reformers,  which  being  so 
nearly  allied  to  Deism,  gave  countenance  to  professed 
infidelity.  i>e5A>/n^  published  the  '  Wolfenbuttle 
Fragments,'  which  had  a  great  run  in  Germany.  The 
tendency  of  all  these  fashionable  writings  was  to 
render  the  old  doctrines  contemptible.  These  doc- 
trines were  on  all  sides  exposed  to  ridicule,  as  irra- 
tional, absurd  and  pernicious;  and  the  teachers  of 
them  were  held  up  to  view  as  bigots,  blockheads,  and 
ignoramuses,  &c.  Many  treatises  were  published 
against  the  new  doctrines;  but  these,  by  being  mis- 
represented and  abused  in.  the  fashionable  journals, 
were  little  read.  John  Frederick  Teller,  superin- 
tendent of  Zeitz,  wrote  a  Dictionary  of  the  New 
Testament,  in  opposition  to  his  brother,  before  men- 
tioned: but  without  naming  him.  But  it  would  be 
endless  to  enumerate  all  the  answers  that  have  been 
made  to  the  New  Reformers,  especially  as  tliese  are 
not  perfectly  consistent  with  each  other,  or  with  the 
doctrines  of  the  first  Reformers.  But  many  of  them 
are  excellent; — John  E.  MebiiiSy  a  Dutch  minister, 
has  published  three  volumes  of  Letters  against 
Steinbart'sFhilosophy  of  Christianity,  and  a  humour- 
ous performance  entitled  'Letters  from  a  Travelling 
Jew,'  exposing  these  doctrines  to  deserved  ridicule. 
A  treatise  entitled  '  The  Wolf  in  Sheep's  Clothing,' 
without  the  name  of  the  author,  was  printed  in  1783, 
but  it  never  appeared  in  the  Booksellers'  shops,  as  it 
not  only  refuted  the  doctrines  of  the  New  Reformer* 


RESIDENCE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES.  279 

by  arguments,  but  exposed  them  to  deserved  ridicule, 
the  author  having  a  talent  for  humour.  This  trea- 
tise is  highly  commended  by  the  orthodox  journalists, 
and  seems  to  have  made  a  considerable,  though  tem- 
porary impression." 

"As  to  religious  revolutions  in  Holland,  Switzer- 
land, Denmark  and  Sweden,  I  know  but  little;  but 
as  French  fashions  have  long  prevailed  in  those  coun- 
tries, it  cannot  be  wonderful  if  French  infidelity 
should  likewise  become  fashionable  among  them.'' 

"  With  regard  to  the  most  important  of  all  sub- 
jects, to  wit,  the  state  of  orthodoxy  and  vital  piety 
in  the  Church,  I  fear  you  will  be  obliged  to  represent 
it  in  the  Eighteenth  Century  as  every  where  decli- 
ning^ and  in  most  places,  awfully  declining.  In 
the  Reformed  Churches  of  Germany,  France,  Hol- 
land, Svvitzerland,  and  Geneva,  this  representation, 
we  all  know,  applies  in  a  most  distressing  degree; 
and  even  in  Great  Britain,  with  few  exceptions,  it  is 
also  applicable.  We  have  sometimes  hoped  that  a 
revival  of  evangelical  preaching,  and  of  attachment 
to  Gospel  truth,  was  beginning  to  dawn  on  Scotland 
toward  the  close  of  the  century.  But,  if  I  mistake 
not,  it  is  certain  that  a  more  decisive  revival  of  true 
religion  has,  within  a  few  years,  taken  place  in  Eng- 
land, both  among  some  portions  of  the  Dissenters, 
and  still  more  remarkably  in  the  established  Church; 
under  the  ministry,  and  from  the  writings  of  such 
men  as  Romaine,  John  Newton,  Simeon,  Cecil,  Scott, 
and  others,  distinguished  for  the  general  soundness 
of  their  opinions,  and  the  fervour  of  their  piety. 
When  Romaine  and  Hervey  arose,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  century,  to  plead  for  evangelical  religion,  thcsy 


280  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

stood  almost  alone  among  the  clergy  of  the  establish- 
ment. The  spiritual  desolation  of  the  Church  of 
England  was  then  deplorable.  A  gratifying  change 
has  since  taken  place:  but  even  yet  I  hear  of  scarcely 
any  participation  in  this  revival  in  the  Miigh  places' 
of  that  Church." 

"  Thus  have  I  gleaned,  with  great  weakness  and 
imperfection,  a  few  hints  concerning  discoveries  and 
improvements  in  the  century  just  about  to  expire, 
and  to  which  you  may  think  proper  to  refer,  either 
in  the  text  or  the  notes  of  its  funeral  Sermon.  You 
had  no  need  to  be  apprehensive  that  your  queries 
would  give  me  trouble.  They  do  me  honour.  I 
should  be  glad  if  I  had  such  a  man  as  you  in  my 
neighbourhood,  who  might  put  such  questions  to  me 
every  day.  May  the  next  century  bring  you  peace, 
happiness  and  success  in  your  ministry,  and  better 
prospects  to  the  public  than  we  have  at  present!" 

''^  I  remain,  with  sincere  and  unaltered  esteem, 
Dear  Sir,  your  very  humble  servant," 

"  Charles  Nisbet  ." 

''Rev.  Mr.  Miller,  New  York.'' 

In  tlie  perusal  of  the  foregoing  letter,  it  ought  to 
be  borne  in  mind  that  it  was  written  forty  years  ago, 
when  the  errors  and  leaders  of  the  Ratioiialists  of 
Germany  were  less  extensively  and  familiarly  known 
than  they  have  since  become;  and,  of  course,  that  the 
sketches  concerning  them  which  it  contains,  were 
then  of  greater  value  than  they  would  be  now,  when 
information  on  the  subject  is  much  more  common. 
Still  they  indicate  a  mind  alive  to  every  thing  which 
had  a  bearing  on  Religion,  in  every  part  of  the  world.. 


RESIDENtJE    IN    THE  UNITED  STATES.  281 

And,  probably,  there  was  not  another  individual  in  the 
United  States,  at  that  time,  when  an  attention  to  Ger- 
man literature  had  gained  so  little  popularity  even 
among  the  literati  of  our  country,  who  had  kept  him- 
self so  well  informed  concerning  every  important 
movement  in  that  cauntry; — a  country  which,  ever 
since  his  day,  has  been  teeming  with  literary  and 
theological  labourers  greatly  beyond  any  other  section 
of  our  globe;  and  which  has  exceeded  all  others  in  the 
strange,  grotesque,  and  impious  productions  of  the 
press,  as  well  in  the  science  of  Mind,  as  in  that  of 
Theology. 

24* 


2S2  MEMOIR  OF    DR.   NISBET. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

His  last  Illness  and  Death. 

For  a  number  of  years  before  his  decease,  Dr. 
Nisbet  was  not  only  diligent  but  uninterrupted  in 
his  attendance  on  the  duties  of  his  office.  From, 
the  time  of  his  recovery  from  the  severe  illness 
which  reduced  him  so  low  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
the  country,  until  the  access  of  that  disease  which 
terminated  his  life,  such  were  his  fidelity  and  zeal, 
that  he  had  scarcely  ever  been  prevented,  for  a  sin- 
gle day,  from  attending  on  the  public  duties  of  his 
station.  He  shrunk  from  no  reasonable  task,  and 
was  ever  ready  to  undertake  any  labour  which  pro-= 
mised  real  benefit  to  the  institution  committed  to  his 
care.  Indeed,  literary  labour,  and  especially  that 
which  consisted  in  imparting  the  elements  of  know- 
ledge to  ingenuous  youth,  appeared  to  be  the  delight 
of  his  heart. 

He  was  often,  indeed,  not  a  little  distressed  to  find 
the  Trustees  of  the  College  entertaining  opinions  so 
entirel}^  different  from  his  own,  respecting  the  time 
necessary  to  be  bestowed  on  a  course  of  study,  and 
in  regard  to  the  best  means  of  conducting  the  affairs 
of  a  literary  institution.  Instead  of  enlarging  and 
improving  the  system  of  public  instruction,  they 
were  rather  disposed  to  make  it  more  narrow  and  su- 
perficial; and  a  course  already  meagre,  still  more 
ineagre,  and  adapted   to  disappoint  the   friends  of 


mS    LAST    ILLNESS    AND    DEATH.  2  83 

sound  learning.     Accordingly,  the  Trustees,  several 

years  before  the  Doctor's  death,  directed  the  course 
of  study  in  the  College  to  be  shortened,  and  required 
as  much  to  be  done  in  one  year  as  had  formerly  oc- 
cupied two  years.  To  this  measure,  he  strongly 
objected,  as  a  kind  of  literary  quackery;  as  adapted 
to  deceive  the  public;  to  impose  upon  young  men 
seeking  a  liberal  education;  and  as  pandering  to  po- 
pular ignorance  and  parsimony  in  a  manner  disgrace- 
ful to  the  guardians  of  education.  His  remonstrances, 
however,  were  in  vain;  and  there  is  every  reason  to" 
believe  that  the  mortification  and  discouragement 
connected  with  this  measure,  and  some  others  of  a 
similar  kind,  and  indicating  the  same  spirit,  preyed 
upon  his  mind,  and  convinced  him,  that  the  great 
hope  which  had  brought  him  to  the  country,  that 
he  might  be  instrumental  in  raising  the  standard  of 
knowledge  and  public  improvement,  could  no  longer 
be  cherished.  His  letters,  about  this  time,  bear  the 
marks  of  great,  depression  of  spirits,  and  the  gradual 
departure  of  those  fond  expectations  which  he  had 
once  entertained  of  extensive  usefulness  to  the  cause 
of  Literature  in  the  United  States. 

A  few  months  before  his.  death,  in  addressing  the 
students  of  the  College,  he  expressed  himself  thus: 
"  You  have  studied  at  a  time  when  the  most  false 
and  absurd  opinions  concerning  learning  have  been 
current,  prevalent,  and  even  rampant.  We  mean 
those  opinions  which  suppose  that  a  liberal  educa- 
tion may  be  attained  in  a  very  little  time;  that  the 
study  of  the  ancient  languages  is  useless;  that  edu- 
cation may  be  completed  in  the  space  of  a  year;  that 
two  years  is  too  long,  and  that  a  great  part   of  the 


284  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

time  of  education  ought  to  be  allotted  to  amusement, 
&c.  The  encouragement  that  has  been  given  to 
these  opinions  among  us,  has  been  of  far  greater  de- 
triment to  this  Seminary  than  the  most  active  malice 
of  its  numerous  enemies;  as  they  have  rendered  it 
impossible  for  its  numerous  friends  to  recommend 
or  defend  it.  Who  would  undertake  to  recommend 
a  Seminary  that  produces  yearling  graduates,  and  in 
vs^hich  the  studies  of  youth  are  conducted  in  the 
most  expeditious  manner?  We  ought  not  to  wonder, 
therefore,  that  those  gentlemen  in  other  States,  who 
have  received  advice  from  the  newspapers  of  its  pre- 
sent state,  have  given  it  no  countenance,  though  pre- 
viously disposed  to  encouraged  it.'^  And,  in  the  last 
address  which  he  made  to  the  students  before  his 
decease,  the  following  strain  of  remark  sufficiently 
indicates  the  bitterness  of  spirit  with  which  he  con- 
templated his  situation.  "  While  this  Seminary  con- 
tinues to  exist,  though  in  a  degraded  state,  when 
compared  with  others,  we  shall  think  it  our  duty  to 
do  all  that  our  circumstances  permit,  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  those  who  are  committed  to  our  care.  It  is, 
indeed,  to  be  lamented  that  the  teachers  of  youth 
among  us,  owing  to  the  disgraceful  subjection  in 
which  they  are  placed,  cannot  do  what  they  would 
for  the  improvement  of  their  pupils.  To  raise  ex- 
pectations which  cannot  be  fulfilled;  to  undertake  to 
accomplish  what  they  know  to  be  impracticable;  to 
promise  to  do  as  much  in  one  or  two  years,  as  other 
Seminaries  can  do  in  three  or  four,  is  undertaking 
an  impossibility.  Men  of  learning  and  experience 
would  disdain  to  use  the  language  of  quacks  and  im- 
posters;  and  they  would  be  inexcusable  if  they  did 


HIS    LAST    ILLNESS    AND    DEATH.  285 

it  of  their  own  accord.  But  when  it  is  imposed  on 
them  by  others,  without  their  consent,  their  situa- 
tion is  singularly  calamitous,  and  their  circumstances 
make  them  resemble  a  sect  under  persecution .  But, 
as  in  this  new  country,  every  thing  is  in  a  state  of 
infancy;  and  as  in  the  imperfect  state  of  human  af- 
fairs, a  considerable  time  is  necessary  before  rational 
opinions,  and  salutary  institutions,  can  be  introduced, 
the  teachers  of  youth  must  be  contented  to  do  what 
they  can,  though  they  have  it  not  in  their  power  to 
do  what  they  would." 

"Some  of  those  who  have  had  the  government  of 
Seminaries  have  greatly  deceived  themselves  and  th& 
public,  by  appreciating  the  labours  of  learned  m,en  by 
the  standai;cl  of  mechanics  and  day-labourers,  and  im- 
agining that  the  education  of  youth  could  be  conduct- 
ed on  agricultural  and  mechanical  principles.  They 
seem  to  have  entirely  forgotten  that  the  will  and  ex- 
ertions of  the  student  are  indispensably  necessary  ta 
his  receiving  instruction;  that  the  master  can  only 
give  lessons  and  exhortations;  but  that  it  depends 
wholly  on  the  will  and  inclination  of  the  student 
whether  he  will  give  any  attention  to  them  or  not, 
A  remedy  for  this,  though  a  very  imperfect  one,  has 
been  proposed,  by  examination.  But  unless  exam- 
ination had  a  charm  to  draw  out  of  the  head  of  a  stu- 
dent what  had  never  got  into  it,  it  is  of  no  effect.  A 
student  on  examination  can  only  repeat  what  he  al- 
ready knows  and  remembers;  but  he  cannot  repeat 
any  thing  that  he  has  lorgotten,  or  to  which  he  had 
never  given  any  attention.  Where  such  opinions 
are  formed  by  the  managers  of  Seminaries,  it  is  im- 
possible that  learning  should  prosper,  as  they  proceed 


286  MEMOIR  OF    DR.    NISBET. 

from  a  profound  ignorance  of  human  nature.  The 
human  mind  which  is  the  object  of  education,  is  not 
a  mere  passive  subject,  like  arable  land,  wood,  or 
metal,  which  can  make  no  resistance  to  the  operations 
of  the  husbandman  or  mechanic; — but  it  is  a  spiritual 
substance,  endued  with  understanding  and  will,  the 
former,  perhaps,  very  weak,  and  the  latter  very 
strong  and  obstinate;  and  if  the  will  does  not  con- 
sent to  the  cultivation  of  the  understanding,  all  the 
efforts  of  the  teacher  must  be  fruitless.  It  some- 
times requires  a  long  time  to  excite  the  attention  of 
youth,  and  to  make  them  receive  and  comprehend 
the  ideas  contained  in  their  lessons;  and  oftentimes  a 
much  longer  time  to  make  them  delight  in  them,  and 
receive  them  with  sensible  pleasure;  and  till  this  is 
the  case  no  valuable  progress  can  be  made  in  learn- 
ing.'^ for  no  one  will  learn  any  thing  against  his  will, 
or  labour  to  understand  what  he  dispises,  and  what 
gives  him   no  pleasure." 

"  Those  who  imagine  that  a  liberal  education 
may  be  obtained  in  a  year  or  two,  do  not  seem 
to  consider  tbis,  but  to  suppose  that  scholars  will 
as  freadily  receive  instruction  as  the  earth  yields 
to  the  plough-share,  or  the  hot  iron  to  the  stroke 
of  the  hammer.  But  those  who  are  practically 
acquainted  with  education,  know  by  experience  that 
this  is  not  the  case;  but  that  many  youthful  minds  re- 
sist instruction  for  a  considerable  time,  and  occupy 
themselves  with  any  trifles  rather  than  their  lessons, 
who,  nevertheless,  may  afterwards  be  awakened  to 
attention,  and  be  successful,  and,  in  some  cases, 
even  highly  successful,  in  the  acquisition  of  know- 
ledge.     Their  time  of  awal^ening  must  be  wateh'^ 


HIS    LAST    ILLNESS    AND    DEATH.  287 

ed  and  waited  for,  and  much  instruction  must  be 
dispersed  in  the  air,  before  they  can  be  made  to 
receive  any.  We  must  follow  nature;  we  cannot 
contradict  or  control  it.  The  quantity  of  knowledge 
acquired  by  any  student  must  be  in  the  compound  ra- 
tio of  his  natural  capacity,  and  the  degree  of  his  atten- 
tion and  willingness  to  learn.  And  this  accounts  in 
the  most  satisfactory  manner  for  the  great  difference 
that  we  discover  in  the  attainments  of  students  who 
have  had  the  same  opportunities  for  acquiring  know- 
ledge.'^ 

"  Hence  we  may  see  the  absurdity  and  folly  of  all 
short  roads  to  learning.  They  all  proceed  on  false 
principles,  and  must  end  in  miserable  disappointment. 
Quacks  and  projectors  in  education  have  indeed  pro- 
posed an  endless  variety  of  plans  for  diminishing 
the  labour,  and  shortening  the  time  of  study,  by  pro- 
mising to  teach  as  much  in  a  few  lessons  as  has  been 
hitherto  done  by  the  labour  and  application  of  seve- 
ral years.  In  Germany  and  elsewhere,  quacks  have 
undertaken  to  teach  young  men  every  science  by 
way  of  diversion:  but  not  one  real  scholar  has  ever 
been  formed  by  these  compendious  methods,  which 
have  never  produced  any  thing  else  than  dunces  and 
smatterers." 

While  these  trammels  on  the  discharge  of  his  offi- 
cial duties  mortified  and  grieved  him,  he  was  not 
free  from  embarrassment  in  regard  to  his  temporal 
support.  The  salary  which  the  Trustees  of  the  Col- 
lege originally  promised  to  pay  him,  was  ^£2 50  ster- 
ling, or  about  $1200.  A  few  years  before  his  death, 
finding  the  number  of  students  small,  and  the 
finances  of  the   Institution   declining,  they  reduced 


2S8  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

his  salary  to  ^800;  a  sum  altogether  insufficient  for 
the  comfortable  support  of  his  family.  Even  this 
sum,  however,  was  miserably  paid.  Arrears  were 
allowed  to  accumulate  to  an  extent  mortifying  to 
him,  and  embarrassing  to  his  family.  Insomuch  that, 
at  the  time  of  his  decease,  these  arrears  had  nearly 
reached  the  amount  of  four  or  five  years  salary;  and 
were  recovered  at  last  only  by  a  legal  process.  The 
Church  at  Carlisle,  to  w^hich  he  steadily  rninistered 
alternately  with  Dr.  Davidson,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned,  also  stipulated  to  pay  him  a  small  salary 
for  his  services.  It  was  a  mere  pittance;  but,  pit- 
tance as  it  was,  it  was  never  punctually  paid;  and  a 
considerable  balance  had  accumulated  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  which  his  executor  recovered  by  a  similar 
process.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say,  that  these  things 
could  not  fail  to  make  a  deep  impression  on  one  who 
had  laboured  so  faithfully  and  ably  to  serve  the  In- 
stitution committed  to  his  care;  and  who  had  left  his 
native  country  on  the  faith  of  the  prospects  and  prom- 
ises which  have  been  already  described. 

About  the  beginning  of  January  1804,  Dr.  Nisbet 
was  seized  with  a  severe  cold,  accompanied  with  in- 
flammation of  the  lungs  and  fever,  which  gradually 
gained  ground  until  it  terminated  his  life.  After  the 
disease  began  to  assume  a  threatening  aspect,  and  es- 
pecially within  a  few  days  of  the  closing  scene,  he 
appeared  to  suffer  exceedingly;  but  he  endured  it  all 
with  remarkable  patience  and  fortitude.  He  retain- 
ed the  possession  of  his  mental  powers  to  the  last. 
The  only  faculty  which  appeared  to  be  strikingly 
impaired  was  his  memory,  which  in  health,  was 
among  the  master  powers  of  his  mind.     This  pre- 


HIS    LAST    ILLNESS    AND    DilATH.  289 

vented  his  holding  much  connected  conversation 
with  those  around  him  during  his  last  hours.  The 
exercises  of  devotion  appeared  to  occupy  his  heart 
and  his  lips  as  long  as  he  was  able  to  utter  them. 
The  last  efforts  of  vocal  utterance  which  could  be 
distinguished,  were  employed  in  articulating  with 
great  tenderness,  the  name  of  his  wife;  and  in  say- 
ing with  peculiar  fervour,  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy!" 
With  these  words  on  his  lips,  he  gently  fell  asleep, 
on  the  18th  day  of  January,  A.  D.  1804,  having 
within  three  days  completed  the  sixty-eighth  year 
of  his  age. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  the  demise  of 
the  venerated  President,  covered  not  only  his  family, 
but  also  the  whole  College  with  the  mantle  of  mourn- 
ing. For,  notwithstanding  all  the  failures  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  College  to  fulfill  their  engagements, 
and  to  provide  for  his  comfort  and  that  of  his  family, 
these  failures  were  rather  to  be  ascribed  to  the  de- 
plorable scantiness  of  the  funds  committed  to  their 
care,  and  the  want  of  skill  and  enterprize  in  mana- 
ging them,  than  to  the  want  of  respect  or  affection 
for  his  high  character.  The  decease  of  this  excel- 
lent man  called  into  exercise  and  manifested  a  widely 
extended  and  peculiar  attachment  and  veneration. 
The  College — the  town — the  whole  neighbourhood 
were  moved,  and  appeared  as  mourners.  The  fune- 
ral was  attended  by  multitudes.  The  Trustees,  Fa- 
culty and  students  of  the  College  appeared  in  a  man- 
ner which  marked  their  deep  sense  of  the  loss  which 
they  had  sustained.  A  sermon  was  preached  on  the 
occasion  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Davidson,  Vice  President 
of  the  College,  and  Pastor  of  the  Church  in  Carlisle. 
25 


290  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

Of  this  sermon  it  is  judged  proper  to  give  the  follow- 
ing extract. 

"  We  are  called  this  day  to  perform  a  very  mourn- 
ful office  indeed !  To  convey  to  the  house  of  silence 
what  was  mortal  of  a  highly  respected  Brother  and 
Servant  of  the  lord.  Great  is  the  loss  which  we 
have  this  day  to  deplore!  The  world  is  deprived  of 
a  Scholar  and  a  Divine  worthy  to  be  ranked  among 
the  most  eminent  that  ancient  or  modern  times  have 
produced.  The  occasion  will  justify  me  in  depart- 
ing from  our  usual  practice,  and  attempting  a  brief 
sketch  of  so  worthy  a  character.  This  tribute  is  due 
to  his  great  talents  and  services.  Nor  can  I  with- 
hold it  without  doing  violence  to  my  own  feelings. 
Having  been  associated  with  him  in  the  duties  of 
the  same  pulpit,  and  of  the  same  literary  institution 
for  nearly  nineteen  years,  no  one  can  have  had  a 
better  opportunity  of  observing  and  admiring  his 
extensive  acquaintance  with  languages  and  science — 
his  benevolent  aims  and  exertions — and  his  ardent 
zeal  for  the  interests  of  religion  and  learning." 

"  When  some  gentlemen  of  a  truly  public  spirit 
had  obtained  a  charter  for  a  College  in  this  Borough, 
(to  bear  the  name  of  one  of  our  earliest  and  most  ac- 
complished Patriots,)  it  was  their  wish  to  place  at 
the  head  of  it  some  one  who  was  distinguished  in 
the  literary  world;  well  knowing  that  the  reputa- 
tation  and  usefulness  of  such  a  Seminary  would  de- 
pend greatly  on  the  plan  of  education  first  adopted, 
and  the  manner  in  which  that  plan  was  carried  into 
effect.  A  Seminary  in  a  neighbouring  State,  had 
risen  to  high  reputation,  under  the  direction  of  a 
President  called   from    North  Britain;— a  country 


HIS   LAST  ILLNESS    AND    DEATH.  291 

long  and  justly  famed  for  its  learned  Universities, 
and  eminent  scholars.  It  was  expected  by  the 
founders  of  this  institution,  that,  under  a  similar 
head,  it  might  acquire  an  equal  degree  of  celebrity, 
and  become  equally  useful." 

"The  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet  was  known  to  be 
a  scholar  uncommonly  well  skilled  in  languages,  an- 
cient and  modern,  and  in  those  sciences  which  are 
most  necessary  to  form  the  minds  of  young  men. 
But  he  was,  at  that  time,  and  had  been  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  comfortably  settled  as  a  pastor  of 
a  large  Church  in  Montrose;  and  to  that  people  we 
are  assured  he  had  officiated,  during  that  time,  with 
such  ability  and  assiduity,  that  they  were  greatly 
attached  to  him." 

"  The  Trustees,  however,  of  the  new  College,  hav- 
ing unanimously  chosen  him  for  Principal,  thought 
it  their  duty  to  press  him  by  every  affecting  argu- 
ment, to  the  acceptance  of  an  office,  in  which  they 
hoped  he  would  be  as  comfortable  as  in  his  former 
station,  and  far  more  extensively  useful.  Great  was 
the  perplexity  of  his  mind,  during  a  whole  year,  be- 
fore he  could  come  to  a  final  determination.  To 
leave  a  society  so  much  pleased  with  him  as  their 
spiritual  teacher;  to  bid  a  last  adieu  to  his  native 
land,  and  the  companions  of  his  youth;  to  cross  an 
ocean  whose  dangers  appeared  formidable;  and  to 
cast  himself  among  strangers,  in  a  new  world;  what 
a  sacrifice  of  his  feelings  to  a  sense  of  duty  did  this 
require!" 

"  He  arrived  here  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  1785,  to 
enter  immediately  on  the  duties  of  his  office;  hoping 
soon  to  see  his  prospects  of  usefulness  realized.     But 


292  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

how  uncertain  are  all  our  possessions,  and  all  our 
prospects!  Very  soon  after  his  arrival,  by  a  violent 
fit  of  sickness,  he  was  rendered  incapable  of  any 
public  duty.  From  the  shock  which  his  constitu- 
tion then  received,  it  seems  never  to  have  fully  re- 
covered; and  such  was  his  debility,  and  consequent 
dejection  of  spirits,  that  a  return  to  his  native  land 
was  seriously  contemplated.^' 

"  As  soon,  however,  as  his  health,  in  the  follow- 
ing season  was,  pretty  well  restored,  he  resumed  his 
former  station.  And  now  we  see  him  entering  on  a 
scene  of  active  usefulness,  which  it  would  be  great 
injustice  to  his  character  to  pass  lightly  over." 

"Such  was  his  desire  to  put  this  College  on  a  most 
respectable  footing;  and  such  were  his  ideas  of  the 
evils  of  a  superficial  education,  and  the  advantages  of 
a  thorough  and  solid  one,  that  he  spared  no  pains  to 
have  his  pupils  well  initiated  in  every  branch  of  use- 
ful knowledge.  His  acquaintance  vs'ith  books  and 
languages  was  far,  very  far  beyond  what  is  common- 
ly acquired  by  those  who  obtained  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. His  memory  was  indeed  extraordinary,  and 
retained  with  ease  whatever  was  committed  to  it! 
With  the  languages  necessary  to  be  known  in  order 
to  a  critical  knowledge  of  ancient  authors,  sacred  and 
profane,  he  was  intimately  conversant.  The  beau- 
ties of  the  Greek  and  Latin  classics  lay  unveiled  to 
his  penetrating  eye;  and  there  was  scarcely  a  re^ 
markable  passage  which  he  could  not  accurately  re- 
peat at  pleasure.  To  show  still  further  the  amazing 
powers  of  his  mind,  and  the  abundant  sources  of  his 
knowledge,  it  is  proper  to  mention,  that  his  acquaint- 
ance with  the  French,  Uali,an,  German,  Low  Dutch 


HIS  LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH.  295 

and  Spanish  languages,  gave  him  easy  access  to  the 
most  celebrated  works  in  these  modern  tongues. 
Hence  we  see  how  it  was  practicable  for  him  to  com- 
pose, and  deliver,  from  day  to  day,  (as  he  did  in  the 
first  years,)  those  Lectures  on  Criticism,  Logic,  and 
Moral  Philosophy,  which  have  been  so  much  ad- 
mired." 

"  In  addition  to  these  duties,  after  he  had  been 
some  time  here  he  undertook  and  executed  another 
very  important  work, — which  scarcely  any  other 
man  in  his  circumstances  would  have  attempted. 
This  was,  to  write  and  deliver,  from  day  to  day,, 
for  more  than  two  years,  a  course  of  lectures  on 
theological  subjects.  These  lectures  form  one  of  the 
most  valuable  systems  of  Divinity  that  the  world  has 
perhaps  ever  seen.  And  these  he  had  the  patience 
to  dictate  to  his  pupils,  (as  he  did  also  his  philosophi- 
cal lectures,)  so  that  they  could  write  down  every 
sentence." 

"To  complete  his  character  let  it  be  remembered, 
that  he  was  an  eminent  minister  of  the  Gospel;  and 
that  in  addition  to  all  his  other  labours,  he  preached 
for  the  most  part  statedly,  as  one  of  the  pastors  of 
this  church.  The  soundness  of  his  principles  and 
the  solidity  of  his  sermons  are  well  known." 

"  The  study  of  the  holy  Scriptures  was  his  chief 
delight,  and  in  the  exposition  and  application  of  di- 
vine truths,  he  was  indeed  a  master  in  Israel.  How 
serious  and  solemn  was  his  manner!  How  plain 
and  perspicous  his  style,  and  perfectly  free  from 
every  thing  pompous  or  affected  !  He  sought  not  the 
applause  of  men,  but  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  the 
glory  of  his  Redeemer.  Ever  solicitous  to  exalt  the 
25* 


2^4  MEMOIR  Op  DR.   NI8BET. 

love  and  grace  of  God,  and  to  humble  the  pride  of 
man,  salvation  by  grace  was  his  favourite  theme. 
At  the  same  time,  no  one  could  be  a  more  severe  re- 
prover of  vice,  or  more  forcibly  inculcate  that  purity 
of  heart  and  life,  without  which  all  pretences  to  faith 
and  religion  are  vain. — To  you  my  friends,  the  peo- 
ple of  this  congregation,  there  is  a  voice  addressed 
this  day,  calling  upon  you  long  and  affectionately  to 
remember  him,  who  has  so  long  dispensed  unto  you 
the  precious  word  of  life;  to  retain  his  instructions, 
and  continue  stedfast  in  your  Christian  profession. 
Remember  also  the  excellent  example  which  he  set 
before  you.  View  him  sustaining  with  propriety 
every  endearing  relation,  and  with  exquisite  sensibili- 
ty, attentive  to  every  social  duty.  Was  he  not  a  most 
agreeable  companion,  especially  in  his  more  tranquil 
days.-^  Was  he  not  ever  most  happy  when  in  the  com- 
pany of  his  friends,  and  diffusing  cheerfulness  all 
around  him?  Who  could  but  admire  his  lively  re- 
marks, his  quick  replies,  and  the  severe  strokes  he 
was  frequently  aiming  at  what  he  conceived  to  be 
the  follies,  the  extravagancies,  the  injustice  and  im- 
pieties that  so  greatly  abound?  To  see  religion  flou- 
rishing, and  mankind  rejoicing  in  its  richest  bless- 
ings, together  with  the  benefits  of  a  wise  and  effi- 
cient government, — this  he  earnestly  desired,  and 
for  this  he  fervently  prayed.'' 

"•  His  addresses  to  the  pupils,  and  especially  at 
Commencements,  contained  most  important  direc- 
tions for  their  conduct  in  life;  and  showed  his  great 
detestation  of  every  vice,  and  of  slavery  and  op- 
pression under  every  form.  Those  addresses  alone 
would  make  a    considerable    volume. — Let  all  the 


HIS  LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH.  295 

sons  of  this  Seminary  affectionately  remember  the 
exhortations  received  from  him,  who  felt  for  them  all 
the  solicitude  of  a  Father.'^ 

"Finally,  let  the  Trustees  and  Patrons  of  this 
Seminary,  amidst  all  their  discouragements  (and  this 
which  may  appear  the  greatest  of  all,)  be  exhorted, 
not  to  faint  or  grow  weary  in  well  doing.  This 
was  an  event  sometime  and  certainly  to  be  expected. 
— An  entire  year  has  not  yet  elapsed,  since  your  de- 
ceased principal  saw,  to  his  great  grief,  the  beautiful 
Edifice,  that  you  had  nearly  finished,  envoloped  in 
flames.  Yet  you  persevered  in  the  good  work  you 
had  undertaken;  and  in  lieu  of  that  which  you  lost, 
a  much  larger  and  more  convenient  building  has  ra- 
pidly progressed,  under  your  direction.  0  how  it 
would  have  pleased  him  to  have  seen  it  completed, 
and  the  institution,  which  has  already  sent  forth  so 
many  young  men  to  fill  important  stations  in  society, 
brought  to  the  desired  perfection,  and  placed  on  a 
broad  and  permanent  basis! — But  such  was  not  the 
will  of  Heaven!  His  race  of  usefulness  here  was 
run.'' 

"  Attacked  with  violence,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
year,  by  a  pulmonary  complaint,  that  had  been  for 
some  time  growing  upon  him,  the  remaining  days 
of  life  were  spent  with  much  bodily  distress.  But 
when  the  important  moment  arrived, — quietly,  with- 
out a  groan,  he  breathed  his  last;  and  committed,  as 
we  have  sufficient  ground  to  hope,  into  the  hands  of 
his  Redeemer,  a  spirit  ripe  for  glory  ^ — and,  bidding 
a  world  of  uncertainty  and  sorrow  an  everlasting 
adieu,  entered  into  the  promised  rest. — At  a  good 
age, — -at  the  close  of  his  68th  year— concluded   his 


296  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

active  and  useful  life. — May  we  all  live  the  life,  as 
we  would  hope  to  die  the  death,  of  the  righteous; 
and  may  our  last  end  be  like  his!" 

Dr.  Erskine,  the  excellent  friend  and  affectionate 
correspondent  of  the  subject  of  this  Memoir,  died  just 
one  year  before  him.  In  his  will  he  bequeathed  to 
Dr.  Nisbet  a  large  part  of  his  Library,  as  a  testimo- 
nial of  respect  and  affection.  No  information,  how- 
ever, of  this  bequest  reached  America  before  Dr. 
Nisbet's  decease.  In  a  few  days  after  the  death  of 
Dr.  Erskine,  his  surving  Son  addressed  a  letter  to 
Dr.  N.  announcing  the  demise  of  his  Father,  but  not 
mentioning  the  legacy.  Toward  the  close  of  the 
year  1803,  Miss  Erskine  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
venerable  legatee — announcing  this  token  of  her  Fa- 
ther's affectionate  remembrance.  But  before  this 
letter  reached  its  destination,  Dr.  Nisbet  was  no 
more;  and  nothing  further,  of  course,  was  said  or 
done  respecting  the  bequest. 

Soon  after  Doctor  Nisbet's  decease,  the  following 
Latin  Ode  to  his  memory  was  prepared  by  Mr. 
James  Ross,  who  had  once  held  a  Professorship  in 
Dickinson  College;  and  was,  at  the  date  of  this  com- 
position, a  Professor  in  Franklin  College,  Lancaster, 
Pennsylvania;  who  knew  him  well,  and  was  a  warm 
admirer  of  his  character.  It  seems  to  have  been  sub- 
mitted to  the  judgement  and  the  disposal  of  the  res- 
pectable Gentleman  whose  name  appears  in  the  In- 
scription,— and  was  probably  by  him  committed  to 
the  press.  And  although  its  claims  on  the  score  of  La- 
tin poetry  are  indeed  very  humble,  yet  as  a  testimo- 
nial of  respect  from  a  most  excellent  man,  it  is  wor- 
thy of  being  here  recorded.. 


HIS  LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH.  297 

Ad  GULIELMUM  HAMILTON 

SALUTEM. 

Hos  ego  versiculos  ;  in  memoriam  viri  integerrimi,  nee  non  et  ex 
omnibus  quos  aetas  prsesens,  annis  multis  per  orbem  terrarum  tulit, 
doctissimi,  tesserulam  honoris,  typis,  ad  Te,  tuis  mandandos,  mitto ; 
quippe  qui  te  facilem  et  commodum  meis,  aliis  occasionibus,  haud  se- 
mel  precibus  dedisti.  Ja.  Ross. 


In  Obitura 
Viri  ckrissimi  CAROLI  NISBET,  D.   D. 

Coll.  Dickinson.  Praesidis,  qui  octodecimo 
Januarii,  A.  D.  1804,  vita  decessit. 


Te  quoque,  qui  nostris  dignatus  vivere  Nisbet 

Finibus,  eripuit  mors  !  fera  Te  eripuit  ! 
Tu,  tandem,  fessus,  metam  finemque  laborum 

Docto,  invenisti,  corpore  deposito. 
Preclarus,  turbas  hominum,  sociosque  relictos, 

Morte  redemptus,  nunc  despicis  altivolus. 
Divitias  quoque  habes  partas  hie,  munera  culta 

Mentis  nempe  bonae,  quas  dedit  ipse  Dkus  . 
Hsec  autera,  vestes,  aurum,  popularis  et  aura, 

Grata  licet  quondam,  et  fulgida,  diffugiunt. 
Finito  ergo  opere,  propter  quod  missus  in  orbem, 

Tempore  et  expleto,  convenit  utiedeas. 
Haud  aliter  servus,  longas  legatus  in  oras 

Qui,  domino,  rediit,  jam  revocante  domum. 
Nuncius  Ameiicorum  hie  tristes  pervolat  oras, 

"  Nisbet  mortuus  !  Heu  !  doctus  et  ille  perit  !" 
Mentibus,  ore,  oculis,  Studiosi  (Academia  plorat) 

Nisbet  nunc  quaerunt  auxilio  ut  subeat ! 
Nisbet  namque  docens,  vestigia,  quae  sua,  pressit ; 

Non  aliena  sequens  :  legit  at  ille  sua. 
Nisbet  eos  docuit  falso  secernere  verum, 

Atque  domique  foris  sedulus  officio. 
Nisbet  eos  dscuit  rerum  cognoscere  causas  ; 

Nisbet  et  instituit  quaerere  vera  bona. 
O  quoties,  praeco  pandis  cum  theraata  sacra, 

"  Vivito"  dixi  "  nee  sit  brevis  hora  tua  ; 
<'  O  felix,  sortita  Hunc,  fausta  Columbia,  tellus  ! 

"  Vivito  Nisbet !  nee  mors  fera  Te  rapiat !" 


298  MEMOIR  OF    DR.    NISBET, 

'  Fidite  ne  vestris ;  heu  !  vana  opera  omnia,'  dixit, 

'  Confugite  ad  Jesum,  vita  in  eoque  salus.' 
Vivere  si  licuisset  nunc,  o  si !  frueremur 

Voce  tua,  aspectu,  consilioque  pio. 
O  utinam  vixisses  !  omnia  namque  videnur 

Rapta  simul  Tecum,  volaque  nostra  jacent ! 
Ceciopidse  Anytique  reum  flebantque  Platona, 

Nisbet,  Te  Juvenes  non  secus  atque  gement ! 
Vivet  in  seternum  virtus  tua,  nulla  vetustas 

Delebit  famam,  conspicuumque  decus. 
De  patria  que  tua  sors  si  certabitur  olim, 

Te  volet  esse  suum  hsec,  illaque  et  esse  suum, 
Nulla  aetasque  futura  tacebit  nomina  Nisbet, 

Per  terrarum  orbem  clara,  negata  niori. 
Coll.  Franklin  Lcmcastria,  Kal.  Mart.  1804. 

The  Trustees  of  the  College  desired,  and  we  are 
assured,  intended,  to  erect  a  suitable  monument  over 
the  grave  of  their  venerated  President;  but  their 
poverty  and  a  load  of  debt,  together  with  their  want  of 
zeal  and  enterprize,  prevented  the  execution  of  their 
wishes.  At  length  however,  this  memorial  of  re- 
spect was  completed  by  the  filial  affection,  and  at  the 
expense,  of  his  only  surviving  son,  the  Hon.  Alex- 
ander Nisbet,  Judge  of  the  city  court  of  Baltimore. 
The  following  is  the  epitaph  which  it  bears,  and 
which  is  ascribed  to  the  pen  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr. 
John  M.  Mason,  who  is  universally  known  as  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  most  accomplished  and  eloquent 
divines  which  have  adorned  the  American  Church, 
and  who  was  one  of  the  successors  of  Dr.  Nisbet,  as 
President  of  Dickinson  College. 

M.S. 

Caroli  Nisbet,  S.  S.  T.  D. 

Qui  unanimi  hortatu 

Curatorum  Academise  Dickinsoniensis, 


HIS    LAST    ILLNESS    AND    DEATH.  29& 

Ut  Primarii  ejusdem  munia  susciperet, 

Patria  sua,  Scotia,  n  licta, 

Ad  Carleolum  venit,  A.  D.  1 789. 

Ibique  per  novem  decern  annos 

Summa  cum  laude 

Muneri  suo  incubuit, 

Viri,  si  quis  alius,  probi  piique 

Omni  doctrinaornatissimi, 

Lectione  immensa,  memoria  fideli, 

Acumine  vero  ingenii  facetiis  salibusque 

Plane  miri,  et  undique  clari. 

Nemini  vero  mortalium  nisi  iis  infensi, 

Qui  cum  Philosophiae   proetextu  sacris  insultant. 

Familiae  autem  suae  amicisque, 

Ob  mores  suaves,  benignos,  hilares  comesque 

Unice  delecti. 

Animam  placide  efflavit  14mo.  Kal.  Feb.  1804, 

Anno  aetatis  68vo. 

Abiit  noster:  proh  dolor  ! 

Cui  similem  baud  facile  posthac  visuri  sumus  ! 

At  quern  Terra  amisit,  lucrifecit  Ccelum, 

Novo  splendore 

Corporis  resuscitati,  vitaeque  eterni 

Cum  Domino  Jesu,  omnibusque  Sanctis, 

Ovantem  rediturura. 

Dr.  Nisbet's  person  was,  in  height,  rather  below 
the  middle  stature,  and,  in  earl}'  life,  slender  and  full 
of  agility.  He  often  said,  that  in  his  youth,  in  walk- 
ing, it  was  easy  for  him  to  keejo  pace  with  an  ordi- 
nary horseman;  and  that  he  frequently,  on  a  winter 
morning,  walked  twenty  or  thirty  miles  before  break- 
fast, without  any  painful  effort.  Before  his  arrival 
at  middle  age,  however,  he  became  corpulent,  and 
continued  so  to  the  end  of  life.  It  came  upon  him 
suddenly,  like  a  disease;  and  no  degree  of  abstinence 
which  he  could  adopt,  appeared  to  arrest  or  diminish 
it.     Yet  his  corpulence  did  not  interfere  much  with 


300  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

activity,  even  in  advanced  age.  His  motions  were 
habitually  rapid,  and  such  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected in  one  who  had  been  once  so  remarkably 
agile.  He  was  characteristically  quick  in  every 
movement,  physical  and  intellectual.  There  was 
nothing  sluggish  or  drawling  in  his  constitution. 
Neither  did  his  corpulence  interfere  with  his  health. 
This  was  seldom  interrupted.  He  was,  indeed,  oc- 
casionally troubled  with  some  disorder  of  the  sto- 
mach, somewhat  similar  to  the  modern  fashionable- 
disease,  called  dyspepsia.  He,  however,  very  sel- 
dom took  medicine;  but  generally  found  himself  en- 
tirely relieved  by  a  fast  of  twenty-four  hours,  which 
was  his  unfailing  remedy. 

The  Print  prefixed  to  this  Memoir  is  copied  from 
a  painting  taken  about  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age; 
which  is  said,  by  those  who  knew  the  venerable 
original  at  that  early  period,  to  be  an  excellent  like- 
ness of  what  he  then  was.  The  Mezzotinto  copy 
here  presented,  is  executed  with  admirable  success. 

Mrs.  Nisbet  survived  the  Doctor  more  than  three 
years.  Her  health  and  strength  declined  from  his 
decease.  She  departed  this  life  on  the  12th  day  of 
May,  1807,  in  the  hope  and  consolation  of  the  Gos- 
pel. She  was  an  excellent  woman,  greatly  aj,tached 
to  her  husband,  and  peculiarly  adapted  and  devoted 
to  his  comfort. 

The  library  which  Dr.  Nisbet  left,  was  a  peculiar 
one.  It  was  rather  select  and  curious  than  large. 
Such  a  collection  of  books  is  rarely  found.  Of  what 
may  be  called  common-place  works,  he  had  compa- 
ratively few.  But  of  books  singular  in  their  charac- 
ter, or  very  rare,  he  was  a  zealous  collector.     In  thii 


HIS  LAST  ILLNESS  AND  DEATH.  SOI 

respect,  his  library  was  probably  a  unique  in  our 
country.  It  comprised  works  not  only  in  the  Latin 
and  Greek,  but  also  in  the  French,  German,  Spanish, 
and  Italian  languages,  all  of  which,  it  is  believed,  he 
read  with  entire  ease.  As  he  made  no  will,  this 
collection  fell,  without  any  testamentary  disposition, 
into  the  hands  of  his  widow  and  children.  Some 
years  after  his  death,  two  of  his  grand  children,  viz. 
the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  M'Coskry,  of  Michigan,  and 
Henry  C.  Turnbull,  Esq.  of  Maryland,  who  had  ob- 
tained the  disposal  of  the  Library,  generously  made 
a  present  of  it  to  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Prince- 
ton, as  the  most  suitable  ultimate  destination  of  a 
collection  of  books  made  by  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
whose  ruling  passion  was  the  diffusion  of  human  and 
divine  knowledge,  and  who  had  come  to  our  coun- 
try, as  has  been  already  stated,  with  the  hope  of  be- 
ing able  to  contribute  something  toward  elevating 
the  standard  of  education,  and  especially  of  Theologi- 
cal education,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

This  donation  to  the  Theological  Seminary  being 
made  at  a  time  when  it  was  uncertain  whether  heresy 
or  schism,  or  both,  might  not  expose  every  thing 
committed  to  that  Institution  to  the  danger  of  per- 
version; the  generous  donors  thought  proper  to  con- 
stitute the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick  Trustees 
of  the  Library,  to  guard  against  its  being  employed 
to  promote  principles  hostile  to  those  of  the  original 
possessor,  and,  in  case  of  such  perversion,  to  make 
an  ultimate  disposal  of  it.  This  trust  the  Presbytery 
has  accepted. 

The  present  chapter  will  be  closed  by  a  brief  state- 
26 


302  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

ment  of  the  surviving  children  and  descendants  of 
this  eminent  man. 

At  the  time  of  his  decease  he  left  two  sons,  and 
two  daughters  living. 

His  eldest  son,  Thomas^  survived  him  only  a 
short  time.  He  was  never  married,  and  died  with- 
out reformation. 

His  second  son,  Jllexander,  after  graduating 
in  Dickinson  College,  studied  law  with  Judge 
Duncan,  of  Carlisle,  and  settled,  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore;  where 
his  talents,  integrity,  and  application  soon  secured 
him  a  respectable  amount  of  professional  success. 
He  has  occupied  the  ofiice  of  Judge  of  the  City  Court 
of  Baltimore  for  twenty-two  years.  He  married 
Miss  Mary  C.  0 wings,  of  Maryland.  They  have 
had  seven  children — three  sons,  and  four  daughters. 
The  daughters  only  survive. 

The  Doctor's  eldest  daughter,  Mary,  who,  as  was 
before  stated,  married  William  Turnbull,  Esquire, 
died  about  twenty  years  after  her  father.  She  left 
nine  children;  four  sons  and  five  daughters.  Of 
these,  all,  except  one  of  the  sous,  are  still  living,  and 
in  various  highly  respectable  situations. 

The  Doctor's  younger  daughter,  *^//.90?2,j^'ho  mar- 
ried Dr.  M'Coskry,  in  1795,  was  left  a  widow,  in 
the  year  1818,  and  is  still  living.  She  has  had  six 
children;  three  sons  and  three  daughters.  Of  these 
one  son  only,  and  two  daughters  survive.  The  son 
is  the  Right  Reverend  Samuel  M'Coskry,  Bishop  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Diocese  of 
Michigan,  Of  the  daughters,  Mary,  the  second, 
married  the  Rev.  Erskine  Mason,  D.  D.  of  the  city 


HIS    LAST    ILLNESS    AND    DEATH.  303 

of  New  York;  and  Alison  the  youngest,  married  Mr. 
Charles  D.  Cleaveland,  late  Professor  in  Dickinson 
College,  now  Principal  of  a  respectable  literary  In- 
stitution in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

In  a  (e\v  months  after  the  decease  of  Dr.  Nisbet, 
an  extended  JMonody  to  his  memory  was  published 
by  Charles  Keith,  M.  D.  a  Physician,  of  Scotland, 
who  afterwards  removed  and  practised  his  profession 
in  England.  He  considered  himself  as  deeply  in- 
debted to  the  Doctor,  for  a  large  part  of  his  early 
education,  and  for  his  success  in  life;  and  was  ar- 
dently attached  to  his  memory.  After  Dr.  Nisbet's 
death.  Dr.  Keith,  in  a  letter  to  his  younger  son,  Alex- 
ander Nisbet,  Esquire,  of  Baltimore,  expressed  him- 
self concerning  his  reverend  friend  in  the  following 
strong  language.  "  Ever  dear  to  me  must  be  the  Son 
of  my  ever  honoured  and  much  lamented  Friend. 
Proud  I  am  to  have  had  such  a  Friend:  for,  take  him 
for  all  and  all,  I  never  knew  his  equal;  and  proud 
you  may  well  be  to  have  had  such  a  Father.  His 
death  was  to  me  a  grievous  affliction.  His  loss  I  can 
never  supply.  But  if  I  have  lost  so  much  in  a  friend 
separated  from  me  by  the  wide  Atlantic,  what  must 
not  your  mother  and  all  of  you  have  lo.st!" 

After  the  decease  of  Dr.  Nisbet,  Dickinson  College 
continued  still  further  to  decline.  Its  deplorable 
povert}^,  and  the  still  more  deplorable  want  of  zeal, 
harmony  and  efficiency  on  the  part  of  the  board  of 
Trustees  ensured  an  existence,  if  continued,  sickly 
and  feeble.  Five  or  six  Presidents  in  succession 
were  appointed,  but  without  any  effectual  relief;  un- 
til at  length  the  Presbyterian  board — for  such  was 
the  predominant  influence  which  sustained  the  InstU 


304  MEMOIR  OF    DR.  NISBET. 

tution — surrendered  it  into  the  hands  of  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States.  By  the  brethren  of  that  denomi- 
nation, the  Institution  has  since  been  borne  onward 
and  upward  with  commendable  zeal,  and  with  a  very 
respectable  degree  of  success. 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  505 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

His  Character,  ^-c. 

The  attentive  reader  will  have  seen  enough  in  the 
foregoing  statements  and  remarks  to  enable  him  to 
make  a  distinct  estimate  of  the  character  of  Dr.  Nis- 
bet,  without  any  formal  attem})t  to  draw  his  por- 
trait. Yet  for  the  sake  of  furnishing  a  convenient 
medium  for  presenting  to  the  public  some  of  the  Let- 
ters, and  other  testimonials  which  follow,  and  which 
might  have  been  greatly  multiplied,  this  closing 
Chapter  is  added  to  the  foregoing.  The  writer  ac- 
knowledges, too,  that  in  making  this  addition,  he  is 
in  some  degree  influenced  by  a  lurking  reluctance  to 
take  a  final  leave  of  a  character  so  endeared  to  him 
self  by  a  thousand  most  respectful  and  affectionat' 
recollections. 

Probably  no  minister  in  the  American  Church 
naw  living,  was  at  once  more  intimately  acquaintec 
with  Dr.  Nisbet,  and  more  capable  of  appreciating 
his  character,  than  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  lat' 
President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  still,  ii 
a  venerated  old  age,  zealously  and  ably  serving  th 
cause  of  evangelical  truth  and  order.  This  Fathe 
of  ihe  American  Church,  at  the  request  of  the  write 
of  the  present  Memoir,  transmitted  to  him  the  fol 
lowing  Letter,  which  is  inserted  for  the  double  pur 
pose  of  presenting  to  the  public  the  interesting  fact 
and  opinions  vvliich  it  contains;  and  also,  as  a  memo 
26*. 


306  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

rial  of  that  early  and  long  continued  friendship  which 
led  to  this  union  and  co-operation  in  erecting  an 
humble  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  illustrious 
dead. 

'«  Philadelphia,  Spril  ^Oth,  1839/' 
"  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  am  now  to  fulfil  a  promise  which  you  drew 
from  me,  that  I  would  furnish  you  with  some  of  my 
reminiscences  of  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  Nisbet. '' 

''  My  first  acquaintance  with  this  eminent  man 
was  at  Princeton,  shortly  after  his  arrival  from  Scot- 
land, in  the  year  1785.  My  impression  and  belief 
is  —although  I  cannot  affirm  it  as  a  fact — that  before 
he  went  to  Carlisle,  he  left  his  family  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  made  a  short  visit  to  his  old  friend  Dr. 
Witherspoon.  I  was  then  a  professor  in  the  College 
at  Princeton,  and  was,  as  a  matter  of  course,  introdu- 
ced to  Dr.  Nisbet,  with  whom  however  I  had  but 
little  intercourse  or  conversation.  Nearly  the  whole 
of  what  I  distinctly  remember  of  him,  at  that  time, 
is,  that  Dr.  Witherspoon  conducted  him  into  the 
college  chapel,  where  he  offered  the  usual  evening 
prayer  with  the  faculty  and  students.'' 

"It  was  not  till  the  month  of  February,  in  1786, 
that  I  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  not  till  tlie  spring 
of  1787,  that  I  was  settled  in  Philadelphia;  and  du- 
ring this  period  I  knew  nothing  more  of  Dr.  Nisbet 
than  I  have  already  mentioned,  except  that  he  was 
established  at  Carlisle,  as  the  President  of  Dickinson 
College." 

"  Shortly  after  my  collegiate  connection  with  Dr. 
Sproat,  I  obtaiaed — but  from  whom  I  do  not  remena- 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC  307 

ber — a  copy  of  a  printed  sermon  delivered  at  Car- 
lisle by  Dr.  Nisbet,  soon  after  he  had  entered  on  his 
official  duties  in  that  place.  So  far  as  I  know,  this 
was  the  only  publication  that  he  made  in  this  coun- 
try. It  has  been,  I  find,  a  prevalent  belief,  that  after 
he  left  Scotland,  (how  it  was  before  I  know  not,)  he 
never  made  a  publication  of  any  kind:  but  of  the 
sermon  to  which  I  have  referred,  I  have  a  distinct 
recollection;  and  I  have  a  strong  impression,  yet  not 
amounting  to  confidence,  that  the  text  of  the  sermon 
was  Acts  vii.  22:  '  And  Moses  was  learned  in  all  the 
wisdom  of  the  Egyptians.'  "' 

"Dr.  Nisbet  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  Philadel- 
phia at  the  annual  meetings  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  our  church.  When  he  was  a  member  of  that 
body,  he  came  here  of  course:  and  when  he  was  not 
a  member,  he  selected  this  period  to  make  an  excur- 
sion for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  and  to  see  and  con- 
verse with  his  clerical  brethren,  from  all  parts  of  our 
country;  as  well  as  to  enjoy  the  company  of  a  large 
circle  of  friends  in  this  city — friends  among  other 
denominations  of  Christians,  as  well  as  his  own.  He 
excelled  in  conversation,  and  greatly  delighted  in 
social  intercourse.  I  well  remember  to  have  heard 
him  remark,  that  at  the  meetings  of  our  Presbyte- 
ries, Synods,  and  General  Assemblies,  the  private 
and  friendly  intercourse  of  the  ministers  and  elders 
of  our  church,  was,  in  his  opinion,  as  useful  as  their 
ecclesiastical  acts  as  judicatories;  and  to  me,  he  ad- 
ded, far  more  pleasing,'' 

"  It  was  at  an  early  period  of  my  pastoral  life,  but 
the  year  I  do  not  remember,  that  at  one  of  his  an- 
nual visits  to  Philadelphia,  we  renewed  our  former 


308  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

acquaintance;  and  from  that  time  till  his  death,  I  had 
much  intercourse  with  him,  both  in  personal  con- 
versation and  in  epistolary  correspondence.  Most 
of  his  letters  to  me  were  of  great  length — closely 
written,  but  as  legible,  nearly,  as  a  well  printed  book; 
for  his  hand  writing  was  beautiful,  and  remarkably 
distinct.  He  very  rarely  erased  or  amended  a  single 
word  that  he  had  first  penned.  1  once  asked  him 
how  he  could  do  this,  as  I  knew  he  never  used  trans- 
cription. His  reply  was  characteristic.  'Your 
question,  said  he,  is  easily  answered.  I  always  write 
what  first  comes  into  my  head,  and  leave  it  to  my 
correspondents  to  erase  and  amend  just  as  much  as 
they  please.'  I  regret  to  say,  that  I  have  lent  and 
given  away  his  letters,  till  I  have  not  one  remaining, 
of  those  he  addressed  to  myself.  A  long  one  to  Br. 
Witherspoon  has  come  into  my  hands,  which  I  hope 
to  insert  in  his  life. " 

"Dr.  Nisbet,  was,  beyond  comparison,  a  man  of 
the  most  learning  that  I  have  ever  personally  known. 
Of  this  learning,  however,  he  was  7iever  ostentatious. 
It  discovered  itself  in  his  conversation  and  letters, 
but  without  any  thing  like  intentional  display.  In 
my  hearing,  he  never  even  adverted  to  his  various 
attainments.  Yet  from  what  I  observed,  and  what 
I  have  learned  from  others,  I  believe  it  maf  be  safe- 
ly stated,  that  beside  his  own  language,  he  was  skill- 
ed in  Hebrew,  including  the  Chaldee,  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  Italian,  Spanish,  German,  and  probably  Erse. 
Whether  he  was,  or  was  not,  acquainted  with  the 
Arabic,  Syriac,  Persic  or  Sanscrit,  I  do  not  know. 
With  the  ancient  classics,  and  with  the  modern 
tongues  I  have  mentioned,  his  familiarity  was  great 


HIS    CHARACTER,    IJTC.  309 

— in  each,  he  had   read  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
best  authors.     When  he  left  Europe,  he  was  suppo- 
sed to  be  among;  the   best  Greek  scholars  it  contain- 
ed.    While  at  the  University,  1  have  been  credibly 
informed,  that,  during  one  of  the  vacations,  he  read 
all  the  Homilies   of  Chrysostom.     Of  the    Iliad  of 
Homer,  he  could  repeat  by  memory  a  great,  if  not 
the  greater  part.     But  he  was  not  merely  a  linguist. 
There  was  scarcely  a  subject,  or  topic,  in  any  depart- 
ment of  liberal  knowledge,  and  even  in  some  of  the 
mechanic  arts,  with  which  he  was  not  acquainted — 
doubtless  with  some,  more  accurately  and  extensive- 
ly than  with  others.     Of  what  are  usually  called  the 
exact  sciences,  I  think  his  knowledge  was  only  gen- 
eral.    I  have  reason   to  know  that  he  was  an  anato- 
mist.     Being  greatly  afflicted,  in  the  early  part  of 
my  ministry,  with  weak  eyes,  and  observing  that,  at 
the  age  of  about  sixty,  he  never  used  spectacles,  I 
asked  him   what  means  he  had  used  to  preserve  his 
eye-sight,  in  what  appeared  to  me  a  state  of  perfec- 
tion.    He  took  up  the  subject  at  once,  and  after  ex- 
plaining the  structure  of  the  visual  organs,  with  ana- 
tomical exactness,  he  applied  the  explanation  to  the 
means  which   he  had   used,  and   which  others  might 
use,  to  preserve  them  in  a  healthy  state.     By  follow- 
ing his  directions,  in  connection  with  the  use  of  some 
additional  means  of  my  own  devising,  the  complaint 
of  my  eyes  was  gradually  and  entirely  removed;  so 
that  now,  in  the  latter  part  of  my  seventy  seventh 
year,  m}'  vision  is  far  better,  than  is  common,  in  men 
of  my  age." 

"  In  stating  my  reminiscences,  this  may  be  as  pro- 
per a  place  as  any  other,  to  mention  a  remarkable  oc- 


310  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISBET. 

currence  in  the  life  of  Dr.  Nisbet,  relative  to  an  affec- 
tion of  his  sense  of  tasting,  the  state  of  his  stomach, 
and  probably  of  his  whole  corporeal  system;  a  descrip- 
tion of  which  I  received  from  his  own  lips.  He 
said  that  at  one  period  of  his  life,  he  was,  for  seve- 
ral years,  without  any  sensation  of  hunger,  any  de- 
sire of  food,  or  any  relish  of  it,  when  it  was  taken; 
so  that  if  he  had  been  starved  to  death,  he  thought 
he  should  have  died  without  any  craving  of  suste- 
nance. His  general  health,  however,  did  not  suffer 
much;  and  he  took  his  meals,  both  as  to  time  and 
quantity,  as  his  judgment  dictated,  and  without 
loathing,  but  without  any  sensible  gratification.  At 
length,  having  occasion  to  go  to  a  distance  in  a  stage 
coach,  he  resolved  to  make  the  first  stage,  of  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  without  his  breakfast;  and 
that,  on  calling  for  it  at  the  stage  house,  he,  for  the 
first  time  in  tvvelve  years,  ate  a  part  of  a  beef-steak, 
with  appetite  and  relish.  The  whole  time  I  was 
acquainted  with  him,  he  was,  in  his  person,  fleshy, 
without  being  corpulent,  very  active,  and  quick  in 
all  his  muscular  motions.  He  dined  with  me  a 
number  of  times;  and  I  remarked  nothing  peculiar 
in  his  eating  or  drinking,  except  that  he  always  re- 
fused gravy  with  his  meat."  ^ 

"Dr.  Nisbet's  extensive  reading  in  the  principal 
languages  of  modern  Europe,  had  rendered  him  well 
informed  of  the  state  and  tendencies  of  society,  in 
the  several  nations  of  that  quarter  of  our  globe. 
Hence  it  was,  that  from  the  very  origin  of  the  French 
revolution,  he  foresaw  and  predicted  its  desolating 
course,  and  denounced  it  with  as  much  decision  and 
bitterness  as  Edmund  Burk  himself.    With  the  most 


HIS    CHARACTER,    ETC.  311 

of  my  countrymen,  I  thought  favourably  of  it  at 
first;  and,  in  one  of  my  letters,  told  him,  that  I 
hoped  it  might  be  the  design  of  God,  in  this  provi- 
dential dispensation,  to  make  use  of  the  rough  hand 
of  infidelity  to  prostrate  the  barriers  of  Popish  igno- 
rance and  superstition,  and  then  to  pour  out  his  Spirit 
on  the  immense  population  of  that  kingdom,  and 
produce  a  glorious  revolution,  in  favour  of  pure  reli- 
gion, and  the  liberties  of  mankind.  He  answered 
me  by  saying,  that  if  it  was  a  desirable  thing  to  pull 
down  the  Pope,  and  set  up  the  Devil,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  a  glorious  revolution  was  going  on  in 
France;  and  that  if  it  was  the  design  of  God,  in  his 
providence,  to  make  the  enormities  perpetrated 
among  that  people  productive  of  any  immediate 
good,  we  could  only  say,  *  How  unsearchable  are  his 
judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out!'  My  par- 
tiality to  the  French  revolution  was  terminated  at 
an  early  period  of  its  progress,  and  the  Doctor,  from 
that  time,  had  no  hesitation  in  giving  me  his  whole 
mind  on  the  subject.  From  some  cause  or  other, 
he  was  able  to  predict  coming  events  at  that  period, 
even  in  opposition  to  existing  appearances.  Thus, 
at  the  time  when  the  Constituent  Assembly  had  de- 
creed that  France  should  remain  a  monarchy,  and 
the  people  were  enthusiastically  swearing  fealty  to 
their  king,  Dr.  Nisbet  wrote  to  me,  as  near  as  1  can 
recollect,  in  these  words:  ^  Poor  Louis,  he  will  have 
a  sham  trial,  and  a  real  execution.'  When  I  com-, 
plimented  him  on  the  sagacity  manifested  in  his 
prognostics,  he  told  me,  that  he  deserved  no  other 
credit  for  his  predictions,  than  what  was  due  to  his 
lucky  interpretation  of  the  prophetic  enigmas  of  the 


312 


MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 


celebrated  Nostrodamus;  that  when  he  wished  to 
know  what  was  to  come  next,  he  had  only  to  con- 
sult Nostrodamus,  (no  doubt,  in  his  '  Centuries  of 
Quatrains,')  and  employ  his  skill  in  solving  his  pro- 
phetic symbols;  in  which  he  had  hitherto  been  very 
successful.  I  told  him,  that  since  Nostrodamus  was 
80  sure  a  guide,  I  should  like  to  know  how  the 
French  revolution  was  to  terminate.  *  0,'  said  the 
Doctor,  *  it  will  all  go  to  the  Devil  at  last. ^  How 
much,  or  how  little,  of  exact  truth  there  was,  in  this 
statement  about  Nostrodamus,  I  pretend  not  to  deter- 
mine. Dr.  Nisbet  never  trifled  with  truth,  when 
the  subject  was  serious;  but  he  both  hated  and  ridi- 
culed the  French  revolution,  and  that  incessantly.  I 
could  fill  more  than  this  second  sheet  of  my  remi- 
niscences, with  his  ludicrous  allusions  to  the  events, 
and  the  language  to  which  it  gave  rise.  I  will  men- 
tion but  a  single  instance.  While  the  General  As- 
sembly of  our  Church  was  in  session,  in  May,  1796, 
a  very  valuable  horse  was  stolen  from  me,  out  of  a 
pasture-lot  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city.  Dr.  Nisbet, 
who  was  paying  us  his  annual  visit,  on  hearing  of 
this  occurrence,  hastened  to  my  house,  and  some- 
thing like  the  following  colloquy  ensued:  *  So,'  said 
he,  '  1  understand  you  have  lost  your  hors^-'  Yes, 
Doctor,  I  replied,  the  night  before  last,  a  thief  fancied 
him,  and  I  fear  I  shall  never  see  him  again.  'No 
doubt,'  said  he,  *  it  was  done  by  one  of  the  sovereign 
people;  he  was  taken,  without  your  leave,  by  a  pure 
act  of  sovereignty.  But,  sir,  it  was  only  a  forced 
loan;  it  was  an  act  of  practical  Liberty  and  Equal- 
ity; the  rascal  thought  that  you  had  been  riding 
long  enough,  and  that,  by  all  the  laws  of  equality,  it 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  313 

was  his  turn  to  ride  naw;  and  so  he  made  use  of  his 
liberty  to  appropriate  to  himself  a  part  of  your  pro- 
perty, without  your  consent.^  ^' 

"Lord  Kames,  in  his  Elements  of  Criticism,  says, 
*  Memory  and  wit  are  often  conjoined,  sound  judg- 
ment seldom  with  either.'  Of  the  justice  of  at  least 
the  first  half  of  this  dictum  of  his  countryman.  Dr. 
Nisbet  might  be  referred  to,  as  a  striking  example. 
In  memory  and  wit,  I  always  viewed  him  as  a  pro- 
digy. I  do  not  mean  to  say,  that  his  memory  was 
without  a  parallel;  for  both  in  ancient  and  modern 
times,  I  have  read  of  those  who  equalled  him  in  this 
faculty.  But  I  can  truly  say,  that  I  never  myself 
have  known  an  individual  that  could  pretend  to  be 
his  equal.  Every  thing  that  he  had  read,  heard  or 
seen,  seemed  to  be  immovably  fixed  in  his  mind,  and 
to  be  ready  for  his  use.  Not  only  could  he  refer  to 
any  fact  or  reasoning,  in  the  numerous  authors 
which  he  had  perused  in  various  languages,  but  all 
the  incidents  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  and  in 
other  ephemeral  publications  that  fell  under  his  no- 
tice, he  never  forgot.  His  letters  to  me  sometimes 
referred  to  occurrences  in  this  city,  which,  although 
on  the  spot,  I  had  not  observed,  or  had  entirely  for- 
gotten, till  he  called  my  attention  to  them.  He  told 
me,  however,  in  one  of  the  last  interviews  that  I  had 
with  him,  that  he  found  his  memory  was  less  faith- 
ful and  tenacious  than  it  had  formerly  been.  In  re- 
gard to  his  wit,  it  seemed  to  be  instinctive,  and  to 
gush  out,  almost  involuntarily,  on  all  occasions. 
Sometimes  it  showed  itself  in  that  pleasant  play  of  the 
fancy  which  is  denominated  Humour;  and  sometimes 
and  oftener,  it  might  be  called  broad  Wit,  irresistibly 
27 


314  MEMOIR    OP    DR.    NISBET. 

provocative  of  agitating   mirth,  or  laughter.      Too 
often    for    his    own   quiet,  it   was  satirical,  or  sar- 
castic; causing  loss  of  friendship  in  some  who  could 
not  make  allowance  for  an  overbearing    propensity. 
For  truly,  in   him,  satirical    remark  or  allusion   was 
not  prompted  by  a  misanthropic  or  malignant  spirit, 
or  disposition.     On  the  contrary,  he  was  benevolent, 
compassionate    and    kind,    in    no   ordinary    degree. 
Seldom  have  I  known  a  man,  more  easily  or  certain- 
ly melted   by  distress  or  misfortune;  or  more  ready 
to  do  all  in  his  power  to  relieve  it.      After  the  dread- 
ful calamity,  the  yellow  fever  of  1793,  his  sympathy 
was  so  awakened  by  the  death  of  his  friends,  that  on 
his  next    visit  to  our   city,   he   exhibited   little  else 
than  sadness  in  his  demeanour  and  conversation.     I 
once  took  the  liberty  to   say  to  him,  that  it  seemed 
to  me,  that  whether  in  the  communications  of  others, 
or  by  his  own  observation,  his  attention  was  drawn, 
with  somewhat  more  than    ordinary  force,  to  an  ob- 
ject, he  speedily  saw  it   in  some  obliquity  of  aspect, 
in  some  grotesque  or  ludicrous  form,  that  rendered 
it  ridiculous,  or  the  fit  subject  of  satire.     He  frank- 
ly replied,  *  I   think  there  is  something  in   that.-*     I 
thought  it  an    evidence  of  deep  conscientiousness, 
that,  as  far  as  possible,  he  restrained   himself  from 
saying  what  would  cause  levity    and  laughter  on  the 
Lord's  day;  and  that   he  did  not  intentionally  admit 
any  eifusion  of  wit  into  his  sermons.     You  will  no- 
tice the  qualification  with  which  I  have  expressed 
myself  in  the  last  sentence;  for  the  truth  was,  he  was 
sometimes  witty,  and  caused  a  smile,  without  intend- 
ing it,  or  probably   being  conscious  of  it  himself. 
Thus,  he  once  made   me  smile,  while  preaching  for 
me  in  my  own  pulpit;  by  comparing  a  man  who  is 


HIS    CHARACTER,    ETC  315 

^  carried  about  by  every  wind  of  doctrine,'  and  appa- 
rently afraid  to  trust  his  own  understanding  to  fix 
him  steadfastly  in  any  article  of  his  relij>;ious  creed, 
to  a  man  who  should  make  the  experiment  of  tying 
up  his  own  eyes,  to  see  how  he  would  walk  blind- 
folded. Expressions  of  this  character  were  so  com- 
mon with  him,  both  in  conversation  and  writing, 
that  I  think  he  probably  often  used  them,  without 
being  at  all  sensible  that  they  were  ludicrous." 

''  He  never  showed  a  note  in  the  pulpit;  and  what- 
ever he  mio;Iu  have  done  in  the  early  periods   of  his 
ministry,  I  am  persuaded  that  while  I  knew  him,  he 
rarely,  if  ever,  wrote  a  sermon.     His  mind   was  so 
stored  with  ideas  on  every  topic  of  a  religious  kind, 
and  his  acquaintance   with   the  holy  Scriptures   was 
so  accurate  and   familiar,   that   with  his  ready  utter- 
ance, he  could   preach  on  any  subject  without  much 
labour  of  preparation.     His  public  discourses  abound- 
ed in  thought,  and  thought  that  was  pertinent,  useful, 
and  often  striking;  but  he  was  loose  and  miscellane- 
ous, rather  than    close  and   methodical.      He  always, 
indeed,  adhered    to  a   general    method,   in  the  treat- 
ment of  his  subject;  but  he  was  not  solicitous  to  put 
each  expression  in  its  most  proper  place,  or   to  ex- 
clude matter  merely  collateral,  if  it  fell  in  his  way. 
His  voice  in  preaching  was  articulate,  but  not  power- 
ful; not  loud  enough   to  reach  the  remote   parts  of 
a  large  and   full   church,  so   as  to   be  heard   without 
a  painful  listening.     He  was  not  aware  of  this,  till 
he  heard  of  it  in  the   way    of  complaint;  and    then 
he  altogether  refused   to  attempt  a   publi*c  service  in 
the  larger  churches  of  our  city.     *  I  cannot  preach  in 
your  mammoth  houses,'  was   his  reply  to  every  in- 
vitation, after  he  had  formed  the  resolution  I   have 


316  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

mentioned.  Yet  he  was  always  ready,  and  apparent- 
ly gratified  to  preach  in  any  place  or  circumstances, 
in  which  he  could  he  easily  and  fully  heard.  1  once 
accompanied  him  when  he  went,  I  believe  on  his  own 
voluntary  offer,  to  preach  to  the  convicts,  in  the  pub- 
lic prison  of  this  city;  and  I  was  never  better  pleased 
with  any  sermon  that  I  heard  from  him,  than  that 
which  he  delivered  on  this  occasion.'^ 

^^In  Theology,  Dr.  Nisbet  was  a  decided  Calvin- 
ist,  of  the  old  school,  and  deeply  read  in  the  writings 
of  its  most  distinguished  masters.  Yet  he  was  not 
intolerant  of  other  denominations,  if  they  held  what 
he  regarded  as  the  fundamentals  of  religion.  I  never 
heard  him  speak  with  severity  of  any  religious  sect, 
except  the  Universalists.  Of  an  individual  of  that 
sect,  whom  he  believed  to  be  a  very  bad  man,  I  once 
heard  him  say,  *  His  is  the  only  good  rogue's  re- 
ligion. He  knoVvs,  if  that  dont  save  him,  he  has  no 
chance  at  all.'  " 

"Of  his  general  character  as  the  President  of  a 
College,  I  know  but  little.  Living  at  the  distance  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Carlisle,  and  ha- 
ving visited  it  but  once  during  his  presidency,  and 
that  at  a  time  of  vacation  in  the  College,  I  had  no 
opportunity  to  make  any  observations  for  r»yself.  I 
have  always  understood,  that  in  the  business  of  in- 
struction, he  never  failed  to  perform  with  ability, 
diligence  and  punctuality,  every  duty  to  which  he 
was  pledged.  I  also  know  that  he  was  greatly  dis- 
satisfied with  the  hasty  and  imperfect  course  of  study, 
which  he  found  himself  obliged  to  tolerate;  and  that 
he  gave  great  umbrage  to  some  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
Institution,  by  the  severity  of  the  remarks  which  he 
made,  on  the  disposition   which  he  believed  they 


HIS  CHARACTER,    ETC,  317 

eherislied,  to  favour   a  superficial  system  of  educa- 
tion." 

"In  like  manner,  I  must  state,  that  I  know  but 
little,  from  personal  observation,  of  Dr.  Nisbet's  do- 
mestic character.  I  have  uniformly  heard  him  repre- 
sented as  peculiarly  amiable  and  kind,  not  only  in 
his  family,  but  in  alt  his  intercourse  with  othei'S,  in 
private  life.  When  the  General  Assembly  met  at 
Carlisle,  in  1792,  he  invited  a  company  to  dine  with 
him,  of  whom  I  was  one;  and  this,  as  far  as  I  recol- 
lect, was  the  only  time,  except  on  the  following 
Lord's  day,  that  I  ever  made  a  part  of  his  domestic- 
circle.  The  dinner  party  to  which  I  have  referred, 
was  received  and  treated  in  a  handsome  style;  and  at 
its  close,  the  Doctor  indul<red  his  witty  and  satirical 
vein,  bevond  any  thing  that  I  had  before  witnessed. 
At  other  times,  it  had  broken  out  by  flashes,  with 
distinct  intermissions;  but  it  now  blazed  forth  in  a 
coruscation,  with  only  fitful  abatements,  for  more 
than  an  hour." 

"  I  conclude  my  reminisences  of  Dr.  Nisbet,  with 
stating,  that  he  was  a  man  of  as  much  genuine  in- 
tegrity as  I  have  ever  known.  Whatever  were  the 
subject,  he  abhorred,  and  denounced  in  unmeasured 
terms,  all  hypocrisy  and  all  disguise.  His  own  sen- 
timents and  feelings  he  disclosed  with  the  simplicity 
of  a  child.  Had  he  been  more  reserved,  perhaps  he 
he  would  have  been  more  happy;  but  he  had  no  ta- 
lent for  concealment." 

"  Respectfully  and  affectionately," 
"  Yours," 

"  AsHBEL  Green." 

''Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Miller.'' 
27* 


318  MEMOIR    OF    D3..    NISBET. 

The  following  letter  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Brown, 
President  of  Jefferson  College,  Canonsburg,  Pennsyl- 
vania, will  show  the  estimation  in  which  the  subject 
of  this  Memoir  is  held  by  another  highly  respected 
head  of  an  important  literary  Institution. 

"  Canonsburg,  June  29,  1840." 
"  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir,'' 

"  I  have  a  very  high  regard  for  the  memory  of  Dr. 
Nisbet.  It  was  my  privilege  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of 
his  instruction,  for  several  j^ears,  while  a  student  at 
College.  I  have  an  entire  copy  of  all  his  college  Lec- 
tures as  he  delivered  them.  Afterwards  1  studied 
Theology  under  his  direction,  and  was  favoured  with 
the  reading  of  the  manuscript  Lectures  which  he  de- 
livered previously  to  a  Theological  class. 

"  Dr.  Nisbet  was  certainly  a  very  extraordinary 
man.  He  appeared  to  have  read  and  studied  every 
thing,  and  to  have  forgotten  nothing.  He  seemed  at 
home  on  every  subject;  to  be  familiar  with  all  distin- 
guished writers,  ancient  and  modern;  and  to  be  ex- 
tensively and  accurately  informed  on  every  depart- 
ment of  literature.  He  was  master  of  at  least  twelve* 
different  languages,  and  could  write  and  converse  in 
most  of  them  with  ease  and  fluency.  In  Latin  par- 
ticularly he  could  converse  and  write  with  great  fa- 
cility and  elegance.  As  President  of  the  College, 
when  present  at  the  recitations  or  examinations  of  the 
different  classes,  he  appeared  perfectly  familiar  with 

*In  a  subsequent  page  the  number  of  languages  with  which  he 
was  familiar,  is  represented  as  Jiine.  That  representation  was  intend- 
ed to  be  strictly  within  bounds.  Dr.  Brown  tliinks  the  number  was 
greater. 


HIS  CHRACTER,  ETC.  319 

every  department,  mathematics,  the  natural  sciences, 
and  languages,  as  well  as  his  own  peculiar  depart- 
ment. He  was  so  perfectly  familiar  with  the  Latin 
and  Greek  classics  usually  studied  in  College,  that 
^'  without  book,"  he  could  hear  a  recitation,  and  cor- 
rect the  slightest  error.  He  appeared  to  have  the 
whole  committed  to  memory.  The  power  of  his 
memory  was  altogether  extraordinary.  'The  Task,' 
a  favourite  poem  with  him,  he  was  said  to  have  com- 
mitted to  memory  perfectly  by  two  readings.  He 
could  quote  and  repeat,  with  a  familiarity  truly  won- 
derful, most  of  the  great  Poets,  Latin,  Greek  and 
English. 

'•'  In  Theology  and  the  sacred  Scriptures  his  knowl- 
edge was  extensive  and  profound.  When  1  com- 
menced the  study  of  Theology  under  his  care,  he  di- 
rected me  to  read  and  study  the  Scriptu7^es,  at  first 
'without  note  or  comment;'  and  when  any  difficul- 
ty occurred,  to  note  the  passage  and  present  it  to 
him,  at  the  time  appointed  for  meeting  him.  The 
moment  he  took  the  paper  in  his  hand  he  seemed  to 
anticipate  the  whole  difficulty,  referred  at  once  to  the 
connection,  and  commonly  repeated  literally,  and 
with  the  utmost  readiness,  the  whole  context;  and 
was  prepared  to  throw  the  most  satisfactory  light 
upon  it." 

''  It  was  my  privilege  to  sit  under  his  ministry  for 
several  years.  But  I  can  give  you  no  new  information 
on  this  subject, as  you  had  the  same  privilege,  though, 
for  a  shorter  time.  After  I  became  familiar  with  his 
Scotch  dialect  and  tone,  I  was  delighted  with  him  as 
a  preacher.  There  was,  as  might  have  been  expect- 
ed, in  his  discourse  a  rich  fund  of  thought  expressed 


320  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET* 

with  peculiar  vivacity  and  force  of  language;  and 
when  exposing  error  and  vice,  accompanied  with  a 
vein  of  satire  for  which  he  was  so  remarkable.  His 
sermons,  you  know,  were  not  written;  but  they  were 
very  systematic,  and  always  well  arranged.  He  had 
a  singular  command  of  that  exhaustless  fund  of  ideas 
with  which  his  mind  was  stored.  When  I  heard 
him  in  Carlisle,  he  seemed  to  limit  himself  exactly 
to  an  hour,  in  every  discourse,  by  the  watch.  But 
this  limitation  of  himself  to  the  hour  did  not  seem  to 
destroy,  or  even  to  affect,  the  proportion  or  harmony 
of  the  different  parts  of  his  sermons." 

"  His  plan  of  instruction  in  College  was  by  Lec- 
tures, which  the  classes  were  expected  to  write  in 
full.  He  delivered  them  with  so  much  deliberation 
and  with  such  pauses,  that,  after  some  practice,  we 
were  able  to  take  down  the  whole.  I  have  a  full 
copy  of  all  his  lectures  taken  from  his  lips  as  he  de- 
livered them.  There  were,  however,  few  classes,  all 
the  members  of  which  would  consent  to  sustain  the 
labour  of  doing  this.  His  lectures  were  thought  by 
some  to  be  too  voluminous;  but  they  were  exceed- 
ingly rich,  and  excellent  in  their  kind.  Besides  a 
thorough  and  philosophical  investigation  of  his  sub- 
ject, it  was  always  illustrated  by  appropriate  anec- 
dotes, characterized  by  that  wit  and  vivacity  for 
which  he  was  so  distinguished.  He  seldom  finished 
a  lecture  without  some  exhilarating  anecdote,  and 
some  brilliant  flashes  of  wit  and  humour,  electrifying 
the  whole  class." 

"  It  has  been  often  alleged  that  men  who  are  re- 
markable for  memory  and  ivit,  are  commonly  defi- 
cient in  judgment,  and  the  power  of  close  reasoning 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  321 

and  investigation.  This  rennark,  which  has  almost 
passed  into  a  maxim,  was  not  exemplified  in  the  case 
of  Dr.  Nisbet.  His  Lectures  on  Metaphysics,  on 
Mental  Philosophy,  and  on  the  most  difficult  subjects 
in  Theology,  exhibit  a  mind  capable  of  the  closest 
reasoning,  and  the  most  discriminating  and  profound 
investigation,  whilst  at  the  same  time  his  lucid  style, 
and  striking  illustrations,  throw  an  interest  around 
those  subjects  which  are  usually  considered  as  dry 
and  unattractive." 

"And  here  I  cannot  forbear  to  give  a  little  speci- 
men of  what  I  mean,  extracted  from  one  of  his  Lec- 
tures on  Logic.  After  treating  on  several  sorts  of 
syllogism  and  modes  of  argumentation,  he  added:" 

"Besides  all  the  modes  of  argumentation  already 
mentioned,  there  is  another  more  ancient  and  much 
more  in  use,  than  any  of  the  rest.  This  is  com- 
monly called  the  ay^gumenium  bacculinum,  or 
club  argument,  and  consists  in  using  force  in  bring- 
ing others  over  to  our  opinion.  But  all  other  me- 
thods of  reasoning  ought  to  be  tried  before  this  is 
used;  yet  in  all  governments  this  mode  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  supporting  the  honour  of  the  laws; 
and  indeed  all  government  is  only  a  jest  without  it. 
But  it  is  not  only  the  nerve  of  authority,  but  the 
soul  of  war.  Whence  Louis  the  14th  caused  this 
inscription  to  be  engraved  on  his  cannon — Ultima 
ratio  regum.  There  are  some  men  of  a  nature  so 
stupid  that  this  is  the  only  mode  of  reasoning  that 
has  any  weight  with  them;  and  others  are  so  stub- 
born that  even  this  mode  of  reasoning  cannot  change 
their  opinion;  but  it  has  this  convenient  quality  that, 
when  it  is  vigorously  applied,  it  either  silences  or 


322  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

convinces.  It  has  the  same  property  as  the  dilem- 
ma^ viz,  that  it  is  apt  o  be  retorted;  and  if  the  per- 
son who  uses  it,  has  not  a  force  superior  to  his  respon- 
dent, he  runs  the  risk  of  being  confuted;  because 
this  mode  of  reasoning  is  of  all  others  the  most  in- 
fectious, and  apt  to  be  catched  by  the  respondent, 
the  moment  that  it  is  used  against  him,  which  ought 
to  make  young  men  very  cautious  in  the  use  of  this 
argument,  lest  Ihey  give  their  respondent  an  oppor- 
tunity of  refuting  them.  But  the  most  warrantable 
and  safe  use  of  this  mode  of  argumentation  is  when 
one  acts  as  a  respondent;  and  this  is  the  only  justifi- 
able use  of  it  in  private  life.  There  is  no  mode  of 
argument  in  which  mankind  are  more  liable  to  be 
licentious  and  disputatious.  Young  men  in  particu- 
lar are  very  prone  to  the  use  of  it,  though  generally 
forbidden  by  their  teacher;  and,  indeed,  they  ought 
not  to  be  allowed  the  use  of  it  until  they  are  acquaint- 
ed with  the  rules  of  logic,  so  as  to  know  its  proper 
place,  and  the  cases  in  which  it  ought  to  be  used. 
Of  all  modes  of  reasoning  this  is,  undoubtedly,  the 
most  generally  used.  Hence  all  history  is  full  of  it; 
on  which  account  it  may  be  reckoned  surprising  that 
Jiristotle  has  said  nothing  about  it  in  his  Organon; 
and  it  was  probably  owing  to  this  omissiot^that  his 
pupil,  Alexander  the  Great,  was  so  licentious  in  the 
use  of  it." 

"  It  is  remarkable  that  although,  in  the  common 
mode  of  syllogistic  disputation,  there  is  nothing  so 
difficult  as  how  to  find  a  good  middle  term,  on  the 
contrary,  in  this  way  of  disputation,  there  is  nothing 
so  easy.  Almost  every  thing  has  been  used  as  a 
middle  term  in   this  method  of  disputation.     Hence 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  323 

Virgil  says,  Furor  arrna  lainistrat,  because  a  stone 
a  stick,  a  fire-brand,  or  almost  any  thing  within  one's 
reach,  may  be  used  as  a  middle  term.  School-mas- 
ters make  use  of  their  ferula  for  this  purpose,  and 
boys  of  their  fists;  and  Horace  tells  us  that  the  Thra- 
cians  made  use  of  their  drinking  cups  by  way  of 
middl'e  terms: — and  the  moderns  have  imitated  their 
example  by  using  bottles  and  glasses  for  the  same 
purpose.  As  it  is  necessary  in  disputation  that  the 
same  person  should  not  at  once  act  as  opponent  and 
respondent,  this  gave  rise  to  the  shield,  the  hemlet, 
and  the  coat  of  mail,  which  served  the  same  purpose 
to  the  disputant  as  the  denial  of  any  of  the  premises 
in  ordinary  logic,  the  effect  of  which  is  to  render  the 
argument  on  the  other  side  useless.  But  since  the 
invention  of  gunpowder,  a  new  kind  of  middle  term 
has  been  introduced,  which  renders  defensive  armour 
entirely  useless.  But  the  argumentuni  baccidi- 
nw??2  is  safest  in  the  hands  of  the  civil  magistrates, 
because  private  persons  are  apt  to  use  it  with  indis- 
cretion. Young  men  ought  not  to  be  licentious  in  the 
use  of  any  sort  of  argument;  but  they  ought  to  be 
especially  cautious  in  the  use  of  the  argumentuni 
bucculi?iiim.'' 

"The  moderns  have  introduced  into  their  logic, 
an  argument  unknown  to  the  ancients  called  argu- 
mentuni ad  crunienajn,  i.  e.  an  argument  addressed 
to  the  purse,  which,  however  fashionable,  has  nothing 
to  recommend  it,  because  it  has  no  tendency  to  pro- 
duce conviction.  It  may  embarrass  a  poor  respond- 
ent, but  cannot  convince  his  understanding.  Be- 
sides, this   mode   may  also  be  retorted." 

"  Another  mode  of  argument  is  the  argumentum 


324  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET» 

juratorium,  or  attempting  to  demonstrate  a  conclu- 
sion by  oaths,  instead  of  premises  and  middle  terms. 
This  kind  does  not  admit  of  any  rule,  being  really  a 
breach  of  all  rules,  and  commonly  as  unfriendly  to 
truth  as  it  is  contrary  to  delicacy  and  propriety. 
Besides,  swearing  in  common  conversation  has  been 
observed  to  be  almost  inseparably  connected  with 
lying;  so  that  one  may  pick  out  the  lies  out  of  any 
mixed  discourse,  without  any  other  guide  than  the 
oaths  by  which  they  were  accompanied.  The  fact 
is,  when  a  man  is  conscious  that  he  is  speaking  the 
truth,  he  will  never  suspect  that  it  needs  to  be  con- 
firmed by  an  oath;  whereas,  when  he  knows  that  he 
is  telling  a  lie,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  he  will 
swear  to  it.'^ 

"  I  am  doubtful  whether  there  is  any  thing  in  the 
foregoing  reminiscences  which  will  be  of  any  use  to 
you,  or  which  you  do  not  know  quite  as  well  al- 
ready. If  any  thing  has  been  suggested  which  has 
heretofore  escaped  your  notice,  it  will  give  pleasure 
to  him  who  is  very  respectfully  yours," 

''  M.  Brown." 

«  Rev.  Dr.  Miller:^ 

More  than  thirty  four  years  ago,  when^  plan  had 
been  formed  for  writing  the  life  of  Dr.  Nisbet,  which 
was  afterwards,  for  several  reasons,  for  a  time  laid 
aside,  several  ministers  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
were  requested  to  furnish  materials  for  that  purpose. 
On  that  occasion,  the  following  letter  was  received 
from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Martin,  of  Monimail,  a 
very  respectable  and  worthy  Pastor  of  that  Church, 
which  it  is  thought  proper  to  give  at  large.     A  part 


aiS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  325 

of  the  first  paragraph  was  before  quoted;  but  for  the 
Bake  of  the  connexion,  it  is  judged  best  to  present  the 
whole  letter  at  one  view. 

"  Monimail,  June  1  3,  1805." 
"  Dear  Sir,'' 

"  You  apply  to  one  who  is  very  willing  to  contri 
bute  his  part  for  doing  honour  to  the  memory  of  our 
friend,  Dr.   Nisbet.     But,  alas!  I  am  not  so  well 
qualified  for  this  purpose  as  you  seem  to  think.     As- 
suredly there  are  many  who  could  furnish  you  with 
much  more  ample  details  respecting  his  life  and  its 
various  events  than  I  can,  and  who  had  better  access 
to  him,  and  more  ability  to  estimate  his  character 
and  endowments  than  myself     To  show  you,  how- 
ever, that  1  respect  Dr.  Nisbet's  memory,  and  that  I 
wish  to  oblige  you,  I  shall  frankly  communicate,  on 
the  spur  of  the  occasion,  what  occurs  to  my  recollec- 
tion, as  interesting,  and  worthy  of  being  recorded  in 
a  Memoir  of  that  eminent  man.'' 

*' To  go  back,  chronologically;  perhaps  the  first 
time  that  I  distinguished  Mr.  Nisbet,  was  in  the  Di- 
vinity Hall  at  Edinburgh.  Dr.  Hamilton,  our  wor- 
thy and  learned  Professor,  had  appointed  the  im- 
pugning and  defending  a  Thesis,  according  to  mood 
and  figure,  in  Latin.  The  Doctor  was  an  excellent 
Latin  scholar  himself,  and  seemed  to  be  as  much  at 
his  ease  in  Latin  as  in  English.  The  shrewdness 
and  ability,  the  command  of  argument  and  of  lan- 
guage in  Mr.  Nisbet,  struck  me  much  in  those  days. 
This  disputation  was  the  more  memorable,  because 
it  was  the  only  one  I  witnessed  in  the  Theological 
Class.  1  suppose  the  practice  about  that  time — 1757 
28 


326  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NI3BET. 

— or  1758 — was  becoming  obsolete;  though  it  is  kept 
up  still,  I  believe,  in  some  Presbyteries,  in  the  licens- 
ing of  preachers,  and  in  the  secondary  trials,  before 
ordination,  in  our  Church/^ 

"  His  command  of  Latin,  which,  at  that  time  I  ad- 
mired, suggests  to  me  the  mention  of  his  astonishing 
memory.  In  this  faculty,  he  exceeded  all  men  that 
I  ever  knew.  A  son  of  mine  had  returned  from  his 
first  session  in  the  University  of  St  Andrews,  when 
Dr.  Nisbet  paid  a  visit  to  the  Earl  of  Leven's  fami- 
ly, and  therefore  was  with  me.*  He  asked  the  boy 
what  he  was  reading?  He  told  him,  such  a  book  of 
Homer.  The  Doctor  then  began,  and  recited  many 
lines  of  that  book,  without  the  least  hesitation.  I 
asked  him  how  it  was  possible  tliat  such  a  quantity 
of  Greek  could  remain  in  his  mind?  He  replied, 
*  that  he  did  not  well  know;  that  he  read  them,  and 
they  stuck.'  He  assured  me  that  he  could  once 
have  repeated  the  whole  ^neid,  and  Young's  Night 
Thoughts.  In  his  quotations  from  the  Classics,  and 
from  modern  books,  I  had  occasion  often  to  admire 
the  strength  of  his  memory,  and  the  appositeness  of 
his  references.  Butler's  Hudibras  seemed  to  be  per- 
fectly familiar  to  him,  and  was  often  quoted  with 
happy  effect.  He  was  fond  of  wit,  and  the  wit  con- 
joined with  the  learning  of  Hudibras,  could  not  fail 
to  please  him.  Like  other  wits,  he  could  be  playful, 
and  descend  to  a  play  on  words,  very  happily.  For 
example,  I  carried  him,  one  night,  through  intricate 
paths  and  windings,  to  him,  at  least,  intricate  and  a 

*  Mr.  Martin  was,  for  some  time,  a  Chaplain  in  the  Eail  ol  Leven's 
family. 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  327 

labyrinth.  At  the  end,  he  exclaimed—"  0  Martin! 
you  will  make  an  excellent  commentator;  you  carry 
one  safely  and  skilfully  through  dark  passages." 

"  Dr.  Nisbet's  appearances  in  the  General  Assembly 
attracted  my  notice  long  before  I  was  introduced  to 
his   acquaintance.       They    were    distinguished    by 
acuteness,  and  learning,  and  wit,  and  happy  quota- 
tions, and  quaint  allusions.     He  felt  strongly.     One 
of  his  best  friends  used  to  say: — "  Quicquid  vult 
valde  vidt.''^     He   was,  therefore,  I  suspect,  some- 
times too  severe  on  his  antagonists  in  his  opinions, 
his  conversations,  and    his   public    speeches.       His 
speeches  generally   were  short.     He   was  far  from 
being  declamatory.     Weak  nerves  and  di65dence  ap- 
peared  in   his  utterance;  but  his  matter  was  excel- 
lent; full  of  point,  of  argument,  and  of  happy  illus- 
tration.     The  Docter  had  given  offence  to  some  by 
quoting  Scripture   in   the   General  Assembly.     The 
violent  settlement  of  a  minister,  under  the  "Patron- 
age Act,"  against  the  will  of  the  congregation,  was 
the  subject  before  the  Assembly.     Two    members 
had  made  flaming  and  menacing  speeches  in  favour 
of  the  settlement,  and   reprobating,  in  strong  terms, 
the  sentence  of  the  Synod  refusing  to  let  the  presen- 
tee be  placed.     After  the  preceding  speakers  had 
done.  Dr.  Nisbet  stood  up,  and  spoke  as  follows: — 
*  Moderator,     I    was   afraid    the    two    last   speakers 
would  have  called  for  thunder  and  lightening  to  fall 
on  us  and  consume  us.     I  have  been  often  blamed 
for   quoting   Scripture   in    this  house.     I   shall   not 
trouble  you  with  it  just  now;  but  will  repeat  (glanc- 
ing an  eye  at  the  friends  of  Mr.  Home,  the  celebrated 
author  of  the  Tragedy  of  Douglas,)  a  few  lines  from 


328  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET, 

Shakespeare,  which,  perhaps,  will  be  more  to  the 
taste  of  some  gentlemen. 

"  Could  great  men  thunder 
As  Jove  himself  does,  Jove  would  ne'er  be  quiet ; 
For  every  pelting  petty  officer, 

"Would  use  his  heaven  for  thunder  ;  nothing  but  thunder. — 
Merciful  heaven  ! 

Thou  rather,  with  thy  sharp  and  sulphurous  bolt, 
Split'st  the  unwedgeable  and  gnarled  oak. 
Than  the  soft  myrtle  :    But  man,  proud  man  I 
Brest  in  a  little  brief  authority, 
Most  ignorant  of  what  he's  most  assured, 
His  glassy  essence, — like  an  angry  ape. 
Plays  such  fantastick  tiicks  before  high  heaven, 
As  make  the  angels  weep ."* 

"This  electrified  the  Assembly;  and  by  such 
means  he  often  carried  his  point." 

"After  I  came  to  Fife,  in  1776,1  had  frequent 
opportunities  of  meeting  with  Dr.  Nisbet,  in  the 
company  of  our  common  friend,  Dr.  Snodgrass,  then 
minister  of  Dundee.  They  were  congenial  spirits 
in  many  respects.  We  enjoyed  '  solid  nights,'  as 
Dr.  Snodgrass  phrased  it;  rich  with  anecdotes,  enli- 
vened with  wit  and  learning,  and  seria  mistajocis. 
Our  union,  however,  became  closer  after  he  was  in- 
troduced into  the  acquaintance  of  the  Earl  of  Leven's 
family,  and  was  a  frequent  visitant  at  JNlel ville  House. 
But  I  may  say,  in  truth,  our  union  became  closer 
still,  after  he  went  to  America.  I  had  urged  him 
exceedingly  not  to  cross  the  Atlantic.  I  discovered 
a  degree  of  zeal  on  the  question  of  his  accepting  or 
declining  of  the  invitation   to  be  the  President  in 

f  Shakespeare — Measure  for  Measure — Act  \\.  Scene  II. 


HIS    CHARACTER,    KTC.  329 

Carlisle  College,  which  showed  to  him  that  I  was 
greatly  interested  in  him  and  his  £aim\\y,  I  suppose 
it  was  in  some  measure  on  account  of  the  manifesta- 
tion of  tiiis  interest,  that  I  was  favoured  with  many- 
long  and  very  entertaining  letters  from  America,  as 
one  of  his  friends,  to  whom  he  took  pleasure  in  un- 
bosoming himself  without  restraint.  His  espistles 
were  always  highly  grateful  to  me,  and  full  of  A7*- 
betiana.  The  greatest  number  of  them  I  have  pre- 
served; and  did  delicacy  and  duty  permit  freedoms 
of  this  sort,  which  I  think  they  do  not,  they  would, 
from  the  press,  furnish  the  public  with  a  very  enter- 
taining collection.  They  are  conversations,  unpre- 
meditated; one  topic  slides  into  another;  sometimes, 
however,  the  transitions  are  abrupt  and  unexpected. 
From  his  correspondence,  though  I  had  not  known 
him  in  any  other  way,  I  should  feel  myself  warranted 
in  pronouncing  Dr.  Nisbet  an  excellent  man;  a  sincere 
Christian;  a  true  patriot;  a  warm  friend;  and  strongly, 
verv  strongly  attached  to  the  interests  of  religion,  and 
of  mankind.  His  attachments  to  Great  Britain  seemed 
to  increase  with  his  years  and  his  experience.  He 
held  revolutionary,  and  especially  Galliean  princi- 
ples, in  utter  detestation.  He  considered  the  strength 
and  triumph  of  Great  Britain,  in  her  contest  with 
France,  as,  under  God,  the  hope  of  the  world.  The 
'  Grand  Republic'  was  the  object  of  his  aversion  and 
horror.  The  transition  from  outrageous  Republican- 
ism, to  the  abject  servility  of  the  slaves  of  an  upstart 
Usurper,  he  considered  as,  at  once,  ridiculous,  con- 
temptible, and  completely  degrading.  The  doc- 
trines of  Deists,  Socinians,  and  other  innovators, 
were  as  much  abhorred  as  the  levelling  doctrines  of 
28* 


330  MEMOIR   OF  DR.  NISBETT. 

the  infamous  Paine,  and  of  his  disciples,  whose  blas»- 
phemies  had  deserved  no  notice  or  reply,.but  for  tha 
unhinging  spirit  of  democracy  and  impiety,  which 
had  crept  forth  at  the  time,  under  the  specious  ap- 
pearances and  names  of  '  Philosophy,'  the  '  Rights  of 
Man,'  and  general  'Philanthropy,'  and  'Illumina- 
tion.' " 

"  By  distance  of  time  and  place.  Dr.  Nisbet's  iiv 
terest  in  his  friends  in  Great  Britain  seemed  to  in- 
crease. 'When  I  see,'  said  he  in  one  of  his  letters-: 
-— '  When  I  see  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  passing  over 
me,  I  am  ready  to  envy  them,  and  to  ask  tliem  con- 
cerning my  Friends  whom  they  have  so  lately  visited 
and  are  so  soon  to  see  again.'  In  the  act  of  shutting 
bis  windows,  he  had  happened  to  think  of  his  friends 
at  Monimail:  'Ever  since,'  says  he,  '  I  think  of  you, 
and  pray  for  you  when  I  shut  my  windows  at  night; 
and  so  I  have  connected  the  remembrance  of  my 
friends  with  particular  objects  and  incidents;  and 
thus  I  feel  myself  among  them;  though  I  do  not  just 
go  the  length  of  saying,  Sancte  Martinty  ova  pro 
nobis. ^  " 

^'  Short  and  hurried  as  my  sketch  is,  and,  there- 
fore, imperfect,  it  is  all  that  my  knowledge  and  cir- 
cumstances admit  of;  and  perhaps  all  that  the  limits 
you  can  allot  for  a  communication  of  this  sort,  can 
receive.  Such  as  it  is,  you  are  welcome  to  it,  and 
may  dispose  of  it  as  you  please.  Others  may  furnish 
you  with  a  more  perfect  account;  but  none  with  a 
more  sincere  regard  for  the  character  of  Dr.  Nisbet, 
than  his  friend  and  admirer,  and  yowr  obedient  hum- 
ble servant,"  ''  Samuel  Martin," 
"  The  Rev.  Dr,  Miller,  New  York.'' 


HIS    CHARACTER,    ETC.  331 

The  foregoing  communications  will  satisfy  every 
reader,  if  he  were  not  before  informed  of  the  fact, 
that  Dr.  Nisbet's  intellectual  powers  were  of  a  very 
high  order.  That  his  memory  was  all  but  prodi- 
gious, and  his  wit  seldom  equalled,  all  who  knew 
him,  with  one  voice  conceded.  His  memory  ex- 
extended  to  ivords  as  well  as  things,  and  seemed  to 
serve  him  without  effort,  on  all  occasions.  This  be- 
ing the  case,  some  may  be  ready  to  doubt  whether  a 
mind  so  remarkable  for  the  power  of  recalling  past 
impressions,  and  of  tracing  unusu-al  and  striking  as- 
sociations of  ideas,  would  be  likely  to  be  a  sound  or 
strong  reasoner.  But  his  power  in  the  Judicatories 
of  the  Church,  and  many  of  his  sermons,  as  well  as 
several  things  which  have  appeared  from  his  pen, — 
especially  his  Review  of  the  System  of  Mr.  John 
Wesley,  before  referred  to, — clearly  evinced  that 
his  reasoning  powers,  as  well  as  those  of  retention 
and  imagination,  were  remarkabl}^  clear  and  vigour- 
ous.  The  rapidity  as  well  as  the  vigour  of  his  men- 
tal operations,  was  noticed  as  striking  by  all  who 
conversed  with  him.  If  controversy  had  more 
strongly  called  his  reasoning  talents  into  exercise, 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  there  would  have 
been  a  display  of  them  of  the  most  honourable  kind. 

In  love  of  knowledge,  and  in  solid  learning,  this 
eminent  man  undoubtedly  exceeded  even  most  of 
those  denominated  the  learned  men  of  his  age.  He 
had  been  a  devoted  student  from  his  boyhood.  He 
read  books,  (as  the  writer  of  this  Memoir  has  often 
had  occasion  to  observe,)  in  half,  if  not  one-third 
part  of  the  time  which  it  cost  every  other  person  he 
ever  saw.     And  he  seemed  to  forget  nothing  that  h© 


332  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

ever  read.  Studies  of  this  kind  could  not  fail  of 
leading  to  an  accumulation  of  knowledge  of  the  rar- 
est extent  and  value.  He  seemed  to  have  read 
every  book,  and  to  have  studied  every  subject  which 
the  best  informed  person  at  any  time  in  his  com- 
pany could  ever  mention.  He,  perhaps,  more  fully 
deserved  the  title  that  was  given  him  before  he  left 
Scotland — a  walking  library — than  any  other  man 
in  the  United  States.  Often,  very  often,  when  convers- 
ing in  literary  circles,  after  those  around  him  had 
been  listening,  with  instruction  and  delight,  to  the 
conversation  of  other  remarkably  well-informed  in- 
dividuals, the  subject  of  this  Memoir  has  surprised 
the  company  with  an  exhibition  of  learning  on  the 
same  subjects  of  conversation  so  much  more  pro- 
found and  discriminating,  as  to  preclude  all  compa- 
rison with  the  attainments  of  any  one  else. 

In  what  may  be  strictly  called  erudition,  he  was 
truly  great.  By  this  is  meant  a  profound  acquain- 
tance with  the  ancient  Classics;  with  the  Fathers  of 
the  Christian  Church;  with  the  earlier  as  well  as  the 
later  Historians;  with  the  principal  Theological  wri- 
ters of  all  countries  and  systems;  with  the  history  of 
knowledge;  with  the  leading  writers  on  the  Philoso- 
phy of  the  Mind,  Moral  Philosophy,  Political  Eco- 
nomy, &c.  On  these,  and  the  allied  subj.ects,  he  had 
few  equals.  In  what  are  commonly  termed  the 
Physical  Sciences,  though  well  informed,  he  was 
not  so  profoundly  versed,  as  in  the  branches  of  knowl- 
edge just  mentioned.  He  could,  indeed,  converse  on 
almost  all  of  them  in  an  instructive  and  entertaining 
manner; — showing  that  his  mind  was  awake  to  every 
object  of  knowledge.     But  it  was  evident  that  he 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC. 


333 


had  not  directed  to  them  his  early,  continued  and 
close  attention.  Indeed,  when  conversing  on  several 
of  the  natural  sciences,  he  has  been  often  heard  to 
say — "  The  case  is,  all  we  know  on  these  subjects  is 
just  a  few  facts.^' 

Dr.  Nisbet's  familiarity  with  the  Greek  and  Latin 
classics  has  been  already  more  than  once  alluded  to. 
Of  this  many  striking  proofs  and  examples  were  con- 
tinually occurring.  A  single  one  will  suffice.  Once, 
not  long  after  his  settlement  in  Carlisle,  when  he  was 
dining  with  a  select  literary  circle,  a  Lawyer  of  con- 
siderable eminence,  who  greatly  prided  himself  on 
his  acquaintance  with  the  Latin  and  Greek  langua- 
ges, was  of  the  company.  In  the  course  of  conver- 
sation this  Gentleman  quoted  several  lines  in  the  ori- 
ginal Greek  from  Homer's  Iliad.  When  he  had 
finished  his  quotation,  Dr.  NIsbet  said  to  him — 'Well, 
mon,  ga  on;  what  yau've  left  is  just  as  goad  as  what 
you've  taken.'  The  gentleman  confessed  that  his 
memory  did  not  serve  him.  for  repeating  more.  The 
Doctor  then  began  where  he  had  ended,  and  with  the 
greatest  ease  repeated  a  considerable  additional  por- 
tion. 

But  his  knowledge  of  Languages  was  not  confined 
to  the  Latin  and  Greek.  He  was  an  excellent  critie 
in  Hebrew  literature.  He  also  read  French,  Ger- 
man, Italian,  Spanish  and  Portuguese;  the  two  first 
named  with  perfect  ease  and  familiarity;  and  all  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  understand  the  scope,  and  to 
relish  the  beauties  of  the  principal  writers  in  those 
respective  tongues.  Judge  Brackenridge,  late  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  in  an  eulogy  on  this 
eminent  man,  partaking  in  some  degree  of  his  char- 


334  MEMOIR  OP    DR.  NISBET. 

acteristio  eccentricity,  but  abounding  in  just  and  ex- 
cellent thoughts, — remarks  that  "  he  was  not  only  a 
master  of  the  French  language,  so  as  to  speak  and 
write  it  with  entire  facility;  but  that  he  also  had  such 
an  acquaintance  with  the  Italian  as  enabled  him  to 
read  some  of  the  best  compositions  in  that  language 
with  pleasure;  and  so  much  knowledge  of  Spanish 
and  Portuguese,  as  to  read  Don  Quixotte  and  Ca- 
moens  in  the  original."  Here  were  iiine  languages 
possessed  and  used  by  one  man.  And  although,  as 
is  well  known,  there  have  been  examples,  in  ancient 
as  well  as  in  modern  times,  of  much  larger  attain- 
ments in  the  department  of  language;  yet  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  there  have  been  many  examples  in 
any  age,  of  a  man  skilled  in  so  many  languages,  who, 
at  the  same  time,  had  acquired  so  large  an  amount  of 
other  and  richer  knowledge.  To  the  acquisition  of 
some  of  these  dialects  he  did  not  apply  his  mind  un- 
til late  in  life;  and  in  making  his  acquisitions  in  this 
field,  he  proceeded  almost  entirely  by  his  own  unas- 
sisted efforts,  without  enjoying  any  of  those  facilities 
which  much  travel,  large  libraries,  and  the  constant 
society  and  aid  of  great  linguists,  so  richly  afford. 
As  a  Preacher  Dr.  Nisbet's  excellence  was  great 
and  peculiar.  In  early  life  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
preparing  for  the  pulpit  by  writing  a  portion,  and 
sometimes  a  considerable  portion,  of  what  he  intend- 
ed to  deliver.  But  ii  was  only  on  special  occasions 
that  he  wrote  the  whole.  What  he  wrote,  he  com- 
monly committed  to  memory,  which,  with  him,  was 
a  very  short  and  easy  process.  Two,  or  at  most, 
three  readings  of  that  which  had  been  recently  writ- 
ten, would  enable  him  to  repeat  it  verbatim.     He 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  335 

was  probably  never  known  to  carry  a  paper,  or  any 
kind  of  help  to  his  memory  into  the  pulpit.  Such 
a  mind  needed  no  such  aid.  After  became  to  Ame- 
rica, he  wrote  but  two  Sermons;  one  at  his  inaugu- 
ration as  President  of  the  College,  which  was  print- 
ed; and  the  other  on  the  death  of  Washington,  which, 
though  solicited  by  many  to  be  published,  was  never 
committed  to  the  press. 

In  the  later  periods  of  his  life,  when  the  writer  of 
this  sketch  had  an  opportunity  not  only  of  hearing 
him,  but  also  of  being  much  with  him  in  private,  his 
preparation  for  the  pulpit  seemed  to  cost  him  very 
little  labour.  Indeed,  there  appeared  to  be  no  partic- 
ular portion  of  time  set  apart  for  it.  Even  the  m.em- 
bers  of  his  own  family  never  knew  when  it  was  done. 
The  truth  is  his  mind  was  so  richly  furnished  with 
knowledge;  his  memory  so  extraordinary;  his  ima- 
gination so  much  under  his  command;  and  all  his 
powers  so  prompt  and  obedient  to  his  will,  that  it 
seemed  almost  as  easy  for  him  to  preach  as  to  breathe. 
Nor  was  his  preaching  by  any  means  of  that  com- 
mon place,  declamatory  character  which  too  gene- 
rally belongs  to  the  extemporary  speakers,  in  which 
words  are  more  abundant  than  thoughts;  in  which  a 
few  grains  only  of  wheat  are  to  be  found  in  bushels 
of  chaff.  On  the  contrary,  his  sermons  abounded  in 
thought,  always  instructive  and  weighty;  often  new, 
striking  and  deeply  interesting. 

His  delivery  in  the  pulpit  was  not  remarkably 
graceful,  or  conformed  to  the  rules  of  art.  His  voice 
was  small,  scarcely  sufficient  to  fill  a  large  house, 
without  extraordinary  effort.  He  made  very  little 
gesture.     He  seldom  rose  to  much  vehemence;  but 


336  MEMOIR    OP    DR.  NISBET. 

poured  out  a  flood  of  precious  truth,  good  sense,  and 
unaflfected  piety  with  a  uniformity,  and  solidity  which 
never  failed  to  fix  and  reward  the  attention  of  those 
who  were  more  intent  on  richness  of  thought,  and 
sound  theological  instruction,  than  on  the  ornaments 
of  rhetoric,  or  the  graces  of  a  fascinating  delivery. 
His  style  of  speaking  was  remarkably  clear,  manly, 
unafiected,  direct,  and  adapted  to  please  all  classes  of 
intelligent  and  serious  hearers.  His  powers  of  argu- 
ment and  of  illustration  seemed  to  be  inexhaustible; 
and  when  the  hour  (to  which  his  sermons  were  usual- 
ly confined)  was  out,  he  closed,  not  from  the  least 
failure  of  matter,  but  rather  from  the  unexpected  and 
regretted  failure  of  time.  An  example  of  the  rich- 
ness and  variety  of  his  resources  in  the  pulpit  was 
given  in  a  former  chapter,  when  speaking  of  his  re- 
covery from  a  severe  illness,  soon  after  his  arrival  in 
Carlisle.  On  another  occasion,  when  visiting  a  friend 
in  the  ministry,  that  friend,  having  left  the  discus- 
sion of  an  important  subject  unfinished  in  his  morn- 
ing's discourse.  Dr.  Nisbet,  in  the  afternoon,  took  it 
up,  at  the  point  where  it  had  been  left,  and  brought 
it  to  a  close  in  a  manner  equally  instructive  and  in- 
teresting:— and  all  this  without  retiring  a  moment 
for  study,  or  appearing  to  devote  any  time  to  prepa- 
ration. 

As  a  divine,  Dr.  Nisbet  was  a  sound,  old-school 
Calvinist,  He  was  a  devoted  friend  of  the  West- 
minster Confession  of  Faith;  considering  it  as  a  most 
lucid  and  happy  exhibition  of  the  system  of  doctrine 
taught  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  arrangement  of 
his  course  of  Theological  Lectures  was  in  conformity 
with  the  chapters  of  this  Confession;  and  he  constant*^ 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  337 

ly  inculcated  the  maxim,  that,  on  the  one  hand,  all 
who  professed  to  subscribe  it  only  "  for  substance  of 
doctrine,''  were  guilty  of  criminal  deception;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  that  none  could  subscribe  it  sin- 
cerely or  consistently,  but  genuine  Calvinists,  or 
those  who  so  far  adopted  the  Calvinistic  system,  as 
to  be  decidedly  opposed  to  all  those  opinions,  in  em- 
bracing which  Arminians  and  Pelagians  differ  from 
Calvinists.  All  this  was  frequently  evinced  by  the 
tenor  of  his  preaching:  and  especially  by  his  Review 
of  the  System  of  Mr.  John  Wesley;  and  also  by  man- 
uscripts left  among  his  papers,  in  which  the  subjects 
of  "Moral  Suasion,"  and  the  "Nature  and  impor- 
tance of  Creeds,"  are  distinctly  and  strongly  discuss- 
ed. Nor  was  this  soundness  in  the  faith  a  mere 
frigid  disposition  to  contend  for  a  "form  of  sound 
words."  Those  whp  were  honoured  with  his  ac- 
quaintance, or  who  frequently  heard  him  in  the  pul- 
pit, can  bear  witness  with  what  pious  fervour  he 
often  spoke  on  these  subjects,  and  how  much  his  sen- 
timents in  regard  to  ihem  evidently  appeared  to  re- 
sult not  from  simple  attachment  to  forms,  but  from 
a  conscientious  and  cordial  love  of  the  truth,  and  a 
deep  impression  of  the  importance  of  sound  doctrine 
in  its  bearing  on  vital  religion. 

He  also  manifested  as  rooted  and  firm  an  opposi- 
tion to  "New  Measures,"  as  to  "New  Divinity." 
Several  years  before  his  death,  when  "new  mea- 
sures" were  a  novelty  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
the  writer  of  this  Memoir  had  occasion,  in  corres- 
ponding with  his  venerable  Friend,  to  advert  to  the 
remarkable  revivals  of  religion  which,  about  the 
years  1800  and  1801,  took  place  in  several  of  the 
29 


338  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

Western  States,  particularly  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, attended  with  outcries,  bodily  agitations,  and 
various  extraordinary  characteristics.  In  the  course 
of  that  correspondence,  a  favourable  opinion  was  ex- 
pressed on  the  whole,  of  those  revivals,  by  the  pre- 
vsent  writer,  amidst  all  the  drawbacks  and  blemishes 
with  which  they  were  attended.  Dr.  Nisbet,  in  re- 
ply, gave  a  solemn  warning  of  disasterous  results; 
predicted  that  the  issue  of  the  whole  would  be  to 
dishonour  and  depress  real  religion;  and,  while  he 
admitted  that  some  portion  of  good  might  possibly 
flow  from  them,  expressed  an  earnest  hope,  that 
every  friend  of  truth  and  order  would  frown  upon 
them,  as  pregnant  with  mischief  rather  than  benefit. 
He  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  at  that  early  day,  that,  al- 
though the  means  em.ployed  might  result  in  the  real 
conversion  of  a  few  souls,  the  ultimate  effect  would 
be  to  drive  intelligent  and  sober  people  from  the 
house  of  God,  and  to  multiply  infidels. 

As  an  Jlxitho}\  it  has  been  already  remarked,  that 
Dr.  Nisbet  published  little  from  the  press.  A  num- 
ber, indeed,  of  the  productions  of  his  pen  appeared 
in  the  Magazines  and  Reviews  of  Britain,  from  1756 
to  1783;  some  of  them  known  at  the  time  of  their 
publication,  and  others  not  known  until  afterward,  to 
be  his.  But  the  only  detached  publication  which 
bears  his  name  is  the  Sermon  before  alluded  to,  which 
he  delivered  when  he  was  inaugurated  as  President 
of  the  College  over  which  he  presided.  The  ques- 
tion has  often  been  asked,  why,  in  this  publishing 
age,  a  gentleman  of  so  much  intellectual  wealth 
should  have  had  so  little  disposition  to  commit  to 
the  press  the  productions   of  his  mind?     The  pri- 


HIS    CHARACTER,    ETC  339 

mary  reason,  no  doubt,  was  his  unfeigned  and  pecu- 
liar modesty.  His  acquaintance  with  the  great 
works  of  learning  and  genius  was  so  intimate;  his 
standard  of  excellence  in  authorship  was  so  high; 
and  his  impression  of  the  difficulty  of  adding  any 
thing  worthy  of  perusal  to  the  literary  stock  already 
possessed  by  the  world,  was  so  strong,  that  he  was 
indisposed  lo  run  the  risk  of  obtruding  any  produc- 
tion of  questionable  excellence  on  the  already  over- 
burdened and  glutted  literary  market.  Accordingly, 
he  resisted  many  solicitations  to  pi'epare  for  the 
press  that  which  had  afforded  much  gratification  in 
the  oral  delivery.  And  when,  in  his  last  illness,  he 
was  requested  to  permit  the  publication,  after  his 
decease,  of  some  of  those  Lectures  which  had  been 
listened  to  by  his  pupils  with  equal  instruction  and 
pleasure,  he  received  the  proposal  with  manifest 
aversion,  and  refused  his  assent. 

As  the  President  of  a  ColU^e,  Dr.  Nisbet  had 
many  peculiar  difficulties  to  contend  with;  but, 
amidst  them  all,  he  maintained  an  honourable  stand- 
ing in  the  estimation  of  all  sober  and  competent 
judges.  The  learned  Melchior  Adam,  who  had 
some  experience  on  the  subject,  long  ago  observed: 
"  Sceptrum  illud  Scholasticum,  plus  habet  solici- 
tudinis  quam  pulchriliidinis,  plus  curse  quam 
auri,  plus  impedimenti  quam  argenti.^^  So  this 
great  and  good  man  found  it.  He  was  calledto  pre- 
side over  a  College  in  its  feeble  infancy;  the  funds 
of  which  were  never  adequate  to  the  support  of  its 
officers;  a  large  part  of  the  Guardians  of  which  were 
by  no  means  qualified  to  direct  its  affairs  with  wis- 
dom or  efficiency,  or  to  second  him  in  his  efforts  to 


340  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

promote  sound  learning;  and  most  of  the  pupils  of 
which  were  altogether  indisposed  either  to  study,  or 
to  fall  in  with  the  plans  which  he  laid  for  their  im- 
provement. He  was  really  required  to  ''  make 
brick  without  straw."  No  wonder  that  such  a  Col- 
lege, however  learned  and  able  its  Head,  found  in- 
superable obstacles  standing  in  the  way  of  its  pros- 
perity. The  Board  of  Trustees  was  by  much  too 
numerous.  It  was  romposed  of  most  heterogeneous 
materials.  Some  of  them  were  persons  of  such 
views  and  habits  as  rendered  them  a  dead  weight  on 
the  whole  establishment.  Some  of  them  took  little 
or  no  interest  in  its  affairs.  Others  were  disposed  to 
interfere  with  its  management  unreasonably  and  mis- 
chievously. Indeed,  their  interferences  with  the 
course  of  instruction,  and  between  the  Faculty  and 
students,  were  so  frequent  and  serious  as  essentially 
to  invade  the  best  interests  of  the  College.  Thus 
they  weakened  the  hands  of  the  President  and  Pro- 
fessors, and  paved  the  way  for  vital  mischiefs,  in 
regard  both  to  instruction  and  discipline. 

With  respect  to  one  branch  of  discipline,  that  is, 
inflicting  the  penalties  prescribed  by  the  laws  on  in- 
dividual students,  the  tendency  of  Dr.  Nisbel^s  mind 
was  to  err  on  the  side  of  undue  lenity,  rather  than 
that  of  over  strictness.  His  peculiar  benevolence 
often  led  him — as  some  thought  too  often — to  over- 
look irregularities  and  disorders,  or  to  arrest  the 
stroke  of  justice,  when  the  interests  of  the  College 
demanded  that  it  should  fall  on  the  head  of  the  of- 
fender. But,  in  regard  to  the  discipline  of  his  wit 
and  sarcasm,  he  was  the  terror  of  disorderly  students. 
Frequently,  when  the  lash  of  the  law  either  could 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  341 

not  be  inflicted,  or  failed  of  making  the  proper  im- 
pression, he  could,  by  a  single  sentence  of  caustic 
wit,  cover  the  delinquent  with  mortification  and 
shame.  Indeed,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that,  in 
more  than  one  instance,  young  men  were  so  deeply 
and  painfully  stung  by  an  unexpected  stroke  of  sa- 
tire, or  sarcasm,  that  they  had  no  other  refuge  from 
the  ridicule  which  it  brought  upon  them,  than  to 
leave  the  College. 

Dr.  Nisbet,  after  he  came  to  America,  sel- 
dom attended  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  to  which  he  belonged;  and,  when  he  did 
attend,  seldom  took  an  active  part  in  its  procepd- 
ings.  The  reasons  of  this  were  various.  The 
journey  from  Carlisle  to  Philadelphia,  where  the 
Assembly  usually  held  its  sessions,  was  neither  easy 
nor  convenient.  He  was  generally  obliged  to  per- 
form it  on  horseback,  which  to  one  so  corpulent  as 
he  was  in  advanced  life,  was  by  no  means  comforta- 
ble. But  besides  this,  the  great  difference  between 
the  supreme  Judicatory  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
and  that  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States,  could  not  fail  of  diminishing  his  interest  in  the 
latter.  The  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land, of  which  he  was  often  a  member,  and  in  which, 
when  present,  he  commonly  acted  a  conspicuous 
part,  at  its  great  Session  in  May,  attended  only  to 
the  great  and  leading  portions  of  the  business;  leav- 
ing the  minor  points,  and  the  details  of  order  to  be 
arranged  by  the  Commission  of  the  Assembly,  which 
sat  at  least  four  times  in  the  year.  The  consequence 
was,  that  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  in  May,  was 
a  great  occasion,  when  the  leading  men  of  the  Church 
29* 


S42  MEMOIR  OF   DR.  NISBET. 

were  brought  together  to  discuss  points  of  thrilling 
interest;  when  the  great  questions  which  divided 
the  Church,  were,  tVom  year  to  year,  decided;  and 
when  eloquence  of  the  highest  order  was  annually 
displayed .  From  such  a  body,  and  from  such  scenes, 
it  might  be  presumed  that  no  one  who  could  fairly 
obtain  a  seat,  would  allow  himself  to  be  absent. 
When  the  subject  of  this  Memoir,  in  taking  his  seat 
in  that  body,  found  himself  associated  with  such 
men  as  Robertson,  and  Blair,  and  Witherspoon,  and 
Erskine,  and  MoncriefT,  and  others,  both  clergymen 
and  laymen,  well  known  to  fame  as  masters  of  the 
noblest  ecclesiastical  eloquence,  no  wonder  that  he 
regarded  the  opportunity  as,  in  every  point  of  view, 
deeply  interesting,  both  as  a  feast  of  talent,  and  as  a 
contest  for  principle. 

When  he  came  to  America,  he  found  no  such  par- 
ties in  the  General  Assembly  of  our  Church  as  he  had 
left  in  that  of  Scotland;  such  parties  among  us  being 
of  far  more  recent  origin.  He  found,  too,  that  ques- 
tions  of  great  and  general  interest  seldom  arose  in 
our  Assembly;  and  that  by  far  the  larger  portion  of 
its  time  was  generally  occupied  in  details  of  routine 
business,  which,  though  very  important  to  the  order, 
union,  purity  and  prosperity  of  a  church,  were  not 
calculated  to  arrest  the  attention,  and  excite  the  high- 
est efforts  of  the  minds  of  its  members.  In  these  he 
felt  little  inclined,  or  even  prepared  to  take  an  active 
part,  and  therefore,  seldom  put  himself  in  the  way  of 
it.  And  even  when  he  did  take  a  seat  in  the  Assem- 
bly, he  found  such  a  contrast,  between  the  intensely 
interesting  questions,  and  the  constant  succession  of 
great  speeches,  which  he  had  witnessed  in  his  nativ© 
laad^  and  the  general  character  of  those  which  h^ 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  343 

found  in  our  supreme  Judicatory,  that  it  vvoiild  have 
been  strange  indeed  if  he  had  attended  on  them  with 
as  much  earnestness  as  in  Scotland.  Had  he  lived 
thirty  years  longer,  he  would  have  seen  in  our  Gene- 
ral Assembly  as  many  stimulants  to  ardent  zeal,  and 
great  efforts  as  he  had  left  in  his  own  country. 

Accordingly,  though  he  sometimes  came  to  Phila- 
delphia during  the  Sessions  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly, it  was  more  frequently  for  the  purpose  of  relax- 
ing himself  during  a  collegiate  vacation,  or  of  meet- 
ing clerical  friends,  than  for  taking  a  seat  in  the  Body 
as  a  mem.ber.  This  was  once  humourously  recog- 
nized by  himself  in  a  conversation  with  the  late  Dr. 
Mason,  of  New  York,  with  whom  he  happened  to 
meet  on  one  of  these  visits.  Dr.  Mason  said  to  him, 
in  that  free  and  jocular  manner  for  which  he  was  re- 
markable— "  Well,  Doctor,  I  find  you  sometimes 
come  to  Philadelphia  during  the  Sessions  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly. '^  '•  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  am  not  a  mem- 
ber, but  1  like  to  meet  my  friends,  and  see  a  little  of 
what  is  going  on?  Mason  — "  But  do  you  not  some- 
times go  in  to  the  Assembly,  and  listen  to  its  pro- 
ceedings." Nisbct. — "Yes,  I  sometimes  go  in  for 
the  benefit  of  hearing,  and  then  I  come  out  for  the 
benefit  of  not  hearing.^'  Mason. — "  Well,  Doctor, 
which  is  the  greater  benefit?"  Nisbet. — "  Indeed, 
mon,  its  hard  to  strike  the  balance." 

And  even  when  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly, and  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  occupy  his  seat,  he 
seldom  took  any  part  in  the  debates,  except  on  spe- 
cial occasions,  when  something  occurred  in  his  opin- 
ion seriously  wrong,  against  which  he  thought  it  his 
(]uty   to  bear  testimony;   or  something   ridiculousj. 


344  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

which  tempted  him  to  call  into  exercise  his  satirical 
vein.  On  such  occasions  his  speeches  were  always 
short  and  pointed;  and  though  not  always  successful 
in  the  accomplishment  of  his  purpose,  yet  never  fail- 
ed to  make  a  sensible  impression.  This  impression 
was  sometimes  made  by  brief,  dense  argument  com- 
pressed into  a  few  sentences;  but  much  more  fre- 
quently, by  an  irresistibly  ludicrous  turn  of  thought, 
or  by  a  single  sentence,  conveying  a  thought  more 
powerful,  if  possible,  than  even  direct  argument 
itself. 

On  one  occasion,  when  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Assembly,  the  Records  of  the  Synod  of  New  York 
were  under  review.  They  were  put,  as  usual,  into 
the  hands  of  a  Committee,  to  be  examined  and  re- 
ported on  to  the  Assembly.  The  chairman  of  this 
Committee  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green,  who  was  always 
a  great  favourite  with  Doctor  Nisbet.  Dr.  Green,  in 
the  name  of  the  Committee,  reported,  that,  among 
other  subjects  of  remark,  they  found  on  the  records 
of  the  Synod,  a  resolution  adopted  by  that  body,  re- 
quiring candidates  t^or  the  ministry  to  study  three 
full  years,  after  closing  their  Collegiate  course,  before 
receiving  license  to  preach.  The  Committee  did  not 
undertake  to  pronounce  this  resolution  wrong  in  it- 
self; but  brought  it  before  the  Assembly  as  an  act  cen- 
surable as  directly  militating  against  a  distinct  clause 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  Church  .  When  the  report 
of  the  Committee  was  under  consideration,  several 
speakers  took  part  in  the  discussion.  Among  the 
rest.  Dr.  Green,  the  drafter  of  the  report,  spoke  ably, 
and  at  considerable  length,  in  its  favour.  When  Dr. 
Green  sat  down,  Dr.  Nisbet  arose,  and  said,  with  an 


HIS   CHARACTER,    ETC.  345 

air  and  tone  respectful,  but  intensely  sarcastic,  "Mr. 
Moderator,  T  congratulate  the  friends  of  this  report 
in  havinor  found  in  Dr.  Green  so  able  and  eloquent 
an  advocate  of  the  precious  rights  of  ignorance.^' 

On  another  occasion,  several  years  before,  when 
the  "  Directory  for  the  Worship  of  God  "  was  under 
consideration,  a  Committee  had  reported  a  chapter  on 
the  "Solemnization  of  Marriage."  In  the  formula- 
ry proposed  by  the  Committee  the  following  lan- 
guage occurred — "  You,  Sir,  take  the  woman  whom 
you  hold  by  the  hand,  to  be  your  lawful  and  married 
wife  &c. ;"  and,  "  You,  Mndam,  take  the  man  whom 
you  hold  by  the  hand,  to  be  your  lawful  and  married 
husband,  &c."  When  this  was  read,  Dr.  Nisbet  rose 
and  spoke  thus — "  Mr.  Moderator,  I  do  not  like  the 
complimentary  terms,  Sir,  and  Madam,  which  oc- 
cur in  this  form.  If  I  were  to  address  such  language 
to  many  plain  people  in  the  part  of  the  country 
where  I  live,  they  would  either  stare  with  astonish- 
ment, or  laugh  in  my  face.  This  puts  me  in  mind 
of  a  new  translation  of  the  Bible  vvhich  I  once  saw. 
That  passage  in  one  of  the  Evangelists  vvhich  says, 
'  a  certain  man  had  two  sons,'  the  polite  translator 
rendered  thus — '  A  certain  opulent  gentleman  had 
two  sons;* — just  as  if  none  but  opulent  gentlemen 
ever  had  sons!"  This  created  a  burst  of  laughter  in 
the  Assembly,  and  the  words  to  which  he  had  object- 
ed were  expunged. 

To  the  wit  of  Dr  Nisbet  repeated  reference  has 
been  made  in  the  foregoing  pages.  Of  this  Judge 
Brackenridge,  in  a  eulogy  already  referred  to,  speaks 
thus. 

"  The  wit  of  Dr.  Nisbet  was  of  the  most  genuine 


346  MEMOIR    OF    DR.    NISBET. 

quality.  It  showed  itself  chiefly  in  anecdote  and 
moral  observation..  His  anecdote  of  men  and  things 
was  inexhaustible.  The  talent  of  relating  hriejiy 
facts  that  ilkistrate  a  principle  of  human  nature,  or 
the  character  of  an  individual,  or  the  history  of  a 
transaction,  is  a  rare  and  most  pleasing  talent.  Not 
less  is  that  of  repealing  what  has  been  said  or  writ- 
ten. It  is  not  one  in  many  thousands,  even  of  the 
liieratl,  tliat  has  the  judgment  to  use  the  proper 
words, — fo  U5e  no  more  than  are  sufficient, — and  to 
present  the  i-A-cX  or  thought  simply  to  the  rnind.  It 
is  a  talent  that  is  in  a  great  degree  the  gift  of  nature, 
though  it  may  be  improved  by  art.  But  illiterate 
persons,  in  common  life,  are  observed  to  possess  it, 
in  a  great  degree,  when  the  most  improved  of  the 
Acadeniies  are  without  it.  An  anecdote  or  saying 
may  be  ruined  b}-  the  addition  or  the  omission  of  a 
single  word,  and  the  most  delicate  taste,  from  nature, 
or  from  art,  or  both,  is  necessary  to  that  terseness  in 
which  the  excellence  consists.  '  Brevity  is  the  soul 
of  wit.'      In  this  Dr.  Nisbet  excelled." 

"To  make  the  talent  of  wit  a  particular,  and  espe- 
cially an  oinament  in  a  great  man,  may  seem  incon- 
gruous, were  we  not  to  understand  the  wit  of  a  Sage, 
such  as  might  become  the  banquet  of  Plato,  or  the 
conversations  of  Socrates.  In  that  point  of  view,  it 
detracts  not  from  dignity,  but  rather  adds  to  it.  It 
is  '  the  feast  of  reason,  and  the  flow  of  soul.'  His 
combinations  of  ideas  were  quick  and  surprizing,  to 
illustrate  a  truth,  or  to  answer  an  argument,  and  ex- 
pressed with,  j)erliaps,  a  smile,  but  the  laugh  was  left 
to  others.  I  have  never  heard  of  his  giving  offence 
to  any  one  by   his  wit,  or  wounding  the  tenderest 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  347 

mind.  It  was  evident  that  there  was  no  vanity  or 
ill  nature  at  bottom;  but  a  sincere  desire  to  unite 
pleasantry  and  instruction.  It  was  not  a  sparkling 
fire,  but  a  playins;  light;  and  brilliancy  rather  repress- 
ed than  encouraged.  I  do  not  know  that  he  thought 
he  had  wit,  or  ever  meant  to  use  it;  but  his  own 
mind  presenting  the  incongruities  of  tilings,  he  seem- 
ed to  give  way  to  an  expression  of  the  assemblages 
which  were  upon  his  fancy,  unconscious  of  the  view 
in  which  he  placed  the  errors  which  gave  rise  to 
them." 

In  the  Christian's  ]Mao;azine,*  which  the  late  Dr. 
Mason  of  New  York,  edited  for  several  years,  with 
so  much  honour  to  himself  and  insti'uction  to  the  reli- 
gious public,  the  following  passage  occurs.  "The 
late  Rev.  Dr.  Nisbet,  celebrated  for  his  profound 
erudition,  and  ready  wit,  being  asked.  How  he  would 
define  modern  philosopliy?  replied — ^  It  consists  in 
believing  every  thing  but  the  truth,  and  exactly  in 
proportion  to  the  want  of  evidence;  or  to  use  the 
words  of  a  poet,  in  making  windows  which  shut  out 
the  light,  and  passages  that  lead  to  nothing.'  " 

Though  the  chief  time  and  attention  of  this  emi- 
nent m.an  were  bestowed  on  Theology,  and  the  aux- 
iliary branches  of  knowledge,  he  found  abundant 
leisure  to  keep  pace  with  the  current  literature  of 
the  age,  and  commonly  appeared  more  at  home  in 
this  department  of  reading  than  almost  any  of  his 
associates.  In  Poetry,  he  had  a  remarkably  fine 
taste.  He  not  only  admired,  read,  and  had  deposit- 
ed, to  a  wonderful  extent,  in  his  memory,  the  best  of 

Vol.  I,  p.  284. 


348  MEMOIR   OP    DR.  NISBET. 

the  older  English  poets;  but  he  was  also  equally  at 
home  in  the  writings  of  the  purest  and  most  respect- 
able poets  who  figured  in  his  own  time.  He  was, 
in  particular,  a  great  admirer  of  Coivper,  and  could 
repeat,  by  memory,  a  large  part  of  his  "Task,"  and 
other  poems. 

As  ihe  wit  of  Dr.  Nisbet  was  exuberant  and  inex- 
haustible; and  as,  on  some  occasions,  adapted  to  call 
it  forth,  he  could  wield  with  power  the  weapons  of 
ridicule  and  sarcasm,  it  might  be  supposed,  by  such  as 
did  not  know  him,  that  he  was  wanting  in  tenderness 
and  sympathy.  This,  however,  was  far  from  being  the 
case.  On  the  contrary,  few  men  were  ever  more  re- 
markable than  he  for  their  feeling  and  benevolent 
hearts.  Of  this,  the  writer  of  the  present  Memoir 
has  witnessed  many  striking  examples.  He  will  ad- 
vert to  only  one.  In  the  winter  of  1791,  the  melan- 
choly defeat  of  General  St.  Clair,  by  the  Miami  In- 
dians, occurred,  to  the  distress  of  the  nation.  A 
large  part  of  the  American  army  which  was  engaged 
in  that  expedition,  had,  on  its  way  Westward,  en- 
camped, for  a  number  of  weeks,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Carlisle,  and  became  considerably  acquainted  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Borough.  The  present  writer 
was  in  Carlisle  when  the  disasterous  event  occurred, 
and  had,  for  weeks  before,  heard  the  Doctor  indulg- 
ing his  wit  at  the  expense  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  that  army  and  its  prospects  in 
particular.  When  the  news  of  its  sanguinary  de- 
feat arrived,  instead  of  receiving  it,  as  those  who  did 
not  know  him  might  have  expected,  with  more  than 
his  usual  sarcasm,  he  was  affected,  melted,  nay  almost 
overwhelmed   by  the  sad   intelligence.     If  he  had 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  349 

lost  any  of  his  nearest  and  most  beloved  relatives,  on 
that  field  of  national  disaster,  he  could  not  have  mani- 
fested more  deep  and  heart-felt  grief  than  he  express- 
ed, not  merely  in  a  single  short  paroxysm  of  feeling, 
but  for  a   number  of  days   together.      In   short,  it 
opened  a  view  of  his  character  as  highly  honourable 
to  himself,  as  it  was  unexpected  to  those  who  were 
but  slightly  acquainted  with  him.     Indeed  his  whole 
history  exhibited  him  as  kind   hearted  and  sympa- 
thetic to  a  degree   greatly  beyond  what  is   common 
in  those  who  are  popularly  called  benevolent  men. 
The   Patriotism   of  Dr.  Nisbet  was  ardent  and 
unquestionable.     That  he    was  a    sincere  and  warm 
friend    of  free    government,  none   who   knew    him 
will  deny.     It  is  true,  indeed,  he  saw,  or  thought 
he  saw,  much  in  the  political  disorders  and  excesses 
of  our  country,  for  a  number  of  years  after  he  came 
to  it,  which  filled  him  with  many  fears  for  the  sta- 
bility of  its  government.     On  all  that  he  saw  he  was 
wont  to  express  his  opinions  with  a  frankness  which 
became  a  consciousness  of  perfect  integrity.     These 
opinions  were  not  always  palatable  to  those  around 
him;  and  sometimes,  indeed,  were  incorrect  in  them- 
selves, arising  from  that  want  of  entire  comprehen- 
sion of  the   character  and    habits  of  the  American 
people,  which  was  natural  and  almost  unavoidable  in 
a  stranger.     In    regard  to  these  opinions,    an    able 
eulogy  of  this  venerable  man,  published  many  years' 
ago,  and  ascribed  to  a  layman  of  the  highest  respec- 
tability in  Pennsylvania,  thus  speaks: — "They  gave 
rise  to  rumours  as  unfounded  in  fact,  as  they  were 
disastrous  in  their   results    to    the    interests  of  the 
College, — that  he  inculcated  political  doctrines  which 
30 


350  MEMOIR  OF  DR.  NISBET. 

were  hostile  to  republican  government.  On  this 
subject  the  writer  of  this  notice  can  pronounce  with 
candour  and  accuracy,  as  he  belongs  to  the  party  to 
which  Doctor  Nisbet  is  supposed  to  have  been  inimi- 
cal, and  was  not  only  educated  at  Dickinson  College 
during  the  period  in  question,  but  was  also  intimate 
in  that  gentleman's  family ;  and  he  can  assert  with 
perfect  truth,  no  man  was  a  more  sincere  friend  to 
rational  liberty.'^* 

The  do7nesiic  character  of  Doctor  Nisbet  was  emi- 
nently amiable  and  exemplary.  In  the  relations  of 
husband,  parent  and  master  he  exhibited  a  bright 
example  of  the  most  vigilant  fidelity,  affection  and 
benevolence.  No  one  could  enter  the  door  of  his 
dwelling  without  perceiving  that  his  family  was  the 
abode,  not  merely  of  order  and  harmony,  but  of  the 
most  endearing  attention  and  love. 

Such  was  Doctor  Chakles  Nisbet — a  truly  great 
and  good  man; — endowed  with  various  intellectual 
talents  of  the  highest  order; — in  rich  and  solid  learn- 
ing excelled  by  few  if  any  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived; — as  a  man,  peculiarly  amiable  and  beloved; 
as  a  friend  and  comjianion,  interesting  and  attrac- 
tive beyond  all  rivalry; — as  a  Christian,  truly  pious 
and  devoted,  an  Israelite  indeed,  in  whom  was  no 
guile; — as  a  Divine,  profoundly  learned,  orthodox, 
and  in  every  respect  eminently  furnished; — as  a 
Preacher,  not  what  the  multitude  call  an  orator,  but 
solidly  and  inexhaustibly  instructive,  and  deeply  in- 
teresting to  all  intelligent  and  pious  hearers; — as  the 
head  of  a    College,  Sond  of  instructing  ingenuous 

*  Port  Folio  for  January,  1824. 


HIS  CHARACTER,  ETC.  351 

youth,  large  in  his  views,  indefatigably  diligent,  and 
ever  recognized  as  tlie  father  of  his  pupils;  as  a  Citi- 
zen, truly  and  zealously  patriotic; — and  in  all  the 
relations  of  domestic  and  social  life,  gentle,  disin- 
terested, sympathetic,  amiable  and  beloved. 

Dr.  Nisbet,  however,  with  all  these  accomplish- 
ments, was  not  so  well  qualified  as  many  inferior 
men,  to  meet  the  exigencies,  and  encounter  the  diffi- 
culties which  attended  his  transfer  of  residence  to 
America.  The  Countess  of  Leven  was  undoubtedly 
correct,  when  she  intimated  to  him,  in  one  of  her 
letters,  that  he  was  not  fitted  to  engage  in  scenes  of 
hardy  endurance  and  conflict.  He  laboured  under  a 
nervous  timidity  which  rendered  it  difficult  for  him 
to  meet  physical  danger  with  composure.  He  had 
no  taste  nor  fitness  for  resisting  injuries,  or  contend- 
ing with  the  unfeeling  or  unjust.  His  wit  too,  not 
being  always  under  the  government  of  cautious  re- 
serve, sometimes  led  him  to  attack  popular  prejudi- 
ces, or  iniquitous  actions  in  a  style  which  many  who 
did  not  know  his  sterling  honesty  and  benevolence, 
were  not  always  ready  to  excuse.  To  which  may 
be  added,  that  the  first  fifty  years  of  his  life  having 
been  spent  amid  European  scenes  and  habits,  he 
never  acquired  a  facility  in  making  such  allowance  for 
American  scenes  and  habits,  as  the  situation  of  our 
country  really  required. 

The  period  at  which  he  came  to  our  country,  was, 
perhaps,  the  most  unfortunate  that  could  have  been 
selected  for  transferring  the  residence  of  such  a  man 
from  the  Old  to  the  New  world.  It  was  a  period,  as 
we  have  seen,  of  immaturity,  of  disorder,  of  com- 
mercial derangement,  of  infant  and  struggling  insti- 


S52  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

tutions,  when  few  were  prepared  adequately  to  esti- 
mate literary  worth,  and  fewer  still  qualified  to  pat- 
ronise and  sustain  it.  Of  consequence,  great  as  the 
subject  of  this  memoir  was,  and  was  admitted  to  be, 
by  all  who  knew  him,  both  his  reputation  and  his 
services  would  have  been  still  more  highly  apprecia- 
ted, and  still  more  extensively  useful,  had  he  come 
a  few  years  later;  or  had  he  found  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  as  he  would  have  found  at  a  later  period,  a 
larger  number  of  congenial  spirits,  and  a  more  faith- 
ful fulfilment  of  the  pledges  which  drew  him  from 
his  native  land. 


ADDITIONAL    NOTES. 


Page  184,/.  15. 

Dr.  Nisbet  was,  at  no  period  of  his  life,  inimical 
to  the  character  or  ministry  of  Mr.  Whitejield.  Oa 
the  contrary,  he  was  a  warm  friend  to  the  doctrines 
preached  by  that  eminent  evangelist,  and  considered 
his  ministry  as  greatly  useful.  He  did  indeed  re- 
gard some  of  the  measures  of  that  excellent  man,  es- 
pecially in  the  earlier  part  of  his  course,  as  impru- 
dent and  disorderly;  but  these  had  all  passed  from 
public  view  long  before  Dr.  Nisbet  came  to  America. 
When  the  Countess  of  Leven  spoke  of  his  having  a 
"  bad  idea.of  the  Methodists  since  he  went  abroad/' 
she  evidently  meant  to  use  the  term  Methodist  in 
the  comprehensive  sense  in  which  it  has  long  passed 
current  in  Great  Britain,  as  including  the  adherents 
of  Mr.  Whitefield^  as  well  as  those  of  Mr.  Wesley. 
Dr.  Nisbet  was,  indeed,  warmly  opposed  to  the  Ar- 
minianism  of  the  latter  gentleman  and  of  his  disci- 
ples; and  he  also  greatly  disapproved  of  the  shouting, 
falling  down,  gj^oaning,  &c.,  so  common  in  their 
public  worship  forty  or  fifty  years  ago,  and  no  less  of 
their  decrying  learning  in  the  gospel  ministry,  as 
they  habitually  did  at  that  time.  The  great  change 
which  has  taken  place  in  the  Methodist  body  in  re- 
gard to  outcries  and  disorders  in  worship,  and  also  in 
30* 


354  MEMOIR  OF    DR.    NISBET. 

respect  to  the  increasing  provision  made  for  the  lite- 
rary training  of  their  candidates  for  the  ministry,  is 
known  to  every  one.  Their  preachers  are  now  very 
seldom  heard  to  declaim  against  a  "  book  learned'' 
ministry.  But  in  regard  to  doctrine,  had  the  ven- 
erable subject  of  this  Memoir  lived  to  this  hour,  he 
would  have  had  undiminished  reason  to  express 
strong  dissent  from  that  body.  Were  he  now  alive, 
and  to  go  into  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  many 
parts  of  our  country,  he  would  still  hear  Calvinism 
denounced  by  name  in  the  most  reproachful  and  vio- 
lent language,  as  a  "  hateful  abominable  system,'^  as 
a  "doctrine  of  devils,''  &c.;  and  our  Confession  of 
Faith  quoted  in  a  garbled  manner,  and  loaded  with 
the  coarsest  abuse  as  the  doctrine  of  Presbyterians. 
Is  it  any  wonder  that  a  gentleman  of  Dr.  Nisbet's 
principles  and  character  regarded  all  such  things 
with  the  strongest  disapprobation;  and  that  in  wri- 
ting to  the  Countess  of  Leven  after  his  arrival  in  this 
country,  he  should  express  that  disapprobation  in 
very  decided  terms?  She  evidently  mistook  his 
meaning,  and  considered  him  as  having  an  unfavoura- 
ble opinion  of  all  il/eZ/zot/z.s'^A^,  understanding  the  term 
in  the  British  sense,  as  including  all  professors  of  a 
strict  and  serious  religion. 


Fage  328,  /.  16. 

"  This  electrified  the  Assembly .''^  It  is  well 
known  that,  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  more  liberty  is  frequently  taken  in  em- 
ploying the  weapons  of  ridicule,  sarcasm,  &c,,  and  io. 


NorES.  *  355 

exciting  and  indulging  bursts  of  laughter,  than  is 
usual  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in.  the  United  States.  This  arises  from  vari- 
ous causes.  The  Assembly  in  Scotland  is  a  more 
numerous  body  than  that  in  the  United  States,  and 
of  course  harder  to  keep  in  order.  In  the  American 
Assembly,  professional  counsel  are  never  admitted 
to  plead  causes;  but  in  that  of  Scotland,  they  are 
freely  and  constantly  allowed  to  appear  on  behalf  of 
implicated  parties;  and  they  often,  in  spite  of  every 
thing  that  can  be  done  to  prevent  it,  take  unwarrant- 
able liberties.  Their  very  professions  of  respect  are 
often  mingled  with  sneer  and  sarcasm;  and  they  have 
no  hesitation  in  exciting,  whenever  it  can  serve 
their  turn,  roars  of  laughter.  This  is  not  only  un- 
desirable, but  it  is  also  in  a  high  degree  incongruous 
and  unseemly.  The  author  of  this  volume  would 
leave  it  as  the  suggestion  (he  will  not  presume  to  say 
the  cou)isel)  of  old  age,  and  of  some  experience,  that 
every  thing  of  this  kind  ought  to  be  avoided  in  ec- 
clesiastical judiciatories.  When  the  ministers  of  re- 
ligion come  together  to  transact  the  business  of  the 
Church  of  Christ,  the  very  least  that  ought  to  be  ex- 
pected of  them  is,  that  perfect  gravity,  seriousness,  mu- 
tual respectfuluess,  and  brotherly  kindness  reign  in 
all  their  proceedings.  Hovv  revolting  the  levity,  the 
unbridled  merriment,  the  keen  retort,  the  unkind 
turning  a  brother  into  ridicule,  which  are  sometimes 
indulged!  Such  scenes  have  frequently  been  exhib- 
ited in  Presbyterian  judicatories,  not  only  in  Scot- 
land, but  in  our  own  country,  as  would  not  have 
been  tolerated  in  the  better  days  of  the  Church. 
O.Lir  fathers,  Knox  and  Melville,  in   their  day,  or 


356  MEMOIR    OF    DR.  NISBET. 

Henderson^  Rutherford  and  Gillespie  in  theirs, 
would  have  "  groaned  in  spirit,"  and  poured  forth 
the  majesty  of  Apostolic  rebuke,  if  they  had  been 
witnesses  of  many  a  debate,  which,  within  the  last 
half  century,  has  passed  without  reproof.  0  that 
our  sons  may  be,  in  this  respect  at  least,  wiser  and 
more  examplary  than  some  of  their  fathers  have 
been!  What  comfort,  what  dignity,  what  impress- 
iveness  would  truly  Christian  habits  in  regard  to  this 
matter  impart  to  our  ecclesiastical  Assemblies! 


Page  341,  /.  10. 

On  the  page  above  mentioned.  Dr.  Nisbet  is  repre- 
sented as  "seldom  attending  the  General  Assembly." 
This  may  seem,  at  first  view,  to  militate  with  a  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Green  in  page  307.  But  the  truth  is, 
that  from  the  time  when  the  acquaintance  of  the 
author  of  this  memoir  with  Dr.  Nisbet  commenced, 
until  his  decease,  he  seldom  appeared  as  a  member 
of  the  Assembly,  and  it  is  not  recollected  that  he 
was  in  Philadelphia,  during  that  period  more  than 
two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  its  annual  ses- 
sions. In  preceding  years,  with  the  recollection  of 
which  Dr.  Green  was  more  familiar,  he  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  visiting  Philadelphia  more  frequently  at 
that  season. 


Page  342,  /.  10. 

When  Dr.  Blair  is  mentioned,  among  a  number 
of  others,  as  "  master  of   the    noblest  ecclesiastical 


NOTES.  357 

eloquence/'  it  is  not  meant  that  he  was  himself  a  dis- 
tinguished speaker  in  the  General  Assembly.  It  is 
well  known  that  he  seldom  opened  his  lips  in  that 
body,  excepting  to  give  a  vote.  But  the  character 
of  a  gentleman  of  so  much  rhetorical  taste  and  skill 
could  not  fail  of  being  highly  exciting  in  its  influence 
on  all  who  engaged  in  debate  in  his  presence. 


Page  345,  /.  4. 

The  reader  will  do  great  injustice  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Green,  if  he  supposes,  from  the  statement  concerning 
that  venerable  Father  in  the  page  above  referred  to, 
that  he  is  now,  or  ever  was,  a  friend  'to- a  short  and 
hurried  course  of  theological  study.  On  the  contra- 
ry, perhaps  no  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
has  been  more  uniformly  zealous  and  indefatigable  in 
his  endeavours  to  induce  every  candidate  for  the 
ministry  under  our  care  to  avoid  all  haste  in  his 
professional  training.  On  the  occasion  to  which  the 
above  mentioned  anecdote  relates,  he  only  meant  as 
a  member  of  a  Committee,  to  present  for  animadver- 
sion the  act  of  a  Synod  which  was  in  conflict  with 
the  Constitution  of  the  Church,  and  which,  while  that 
Constitution  remained  unaltered,  he  regarded  as  dis' 
respectful  and  disorderly. 


DATE  DUE 

..  miMiLjiiP 

IW5 

M)|J      4,^.^ 

MS..,. 

\/Ai/r^      r  \3    lu 

r  vj 

CAYLORD 

RE  CLIPPER 


raing,  ISTov.  24,  1857, 


Death  of  Judge  Neshit. — Hon.  Alexander 
Nesbit,  died  at  his  residence,  Montrose,  Bal- 
timore county,  at  an  early  hour  yesterday 
morning,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty 
years.  It  appears  that  he  arose  and  went  to 
his  chamber  window  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting iresh  a^r.  and  in  leaning  out,  lost  his 
balance  and  fell  to  the  ground  beneath.  He 
was  taken  up  and  brought  into  the  house, 
but  died  soon  after.  Deceased  was  a  native 
of  Scotland,  and  emigrated  to  this  country 
when  six  years  of  age.  He  was  the  son  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Nesbit,  for  many  years  President 
of  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania, 
at  which  place  he  was  raised.  He  cAme 
to  this  city  and  embraced  the  profession 
of  law  when  about  20  years  of  age,  and  later 
in  life  was  appointed  one  of  the  Judges  of 
the  Criminal  Court,  in  which  position  he  re- 
mained until  that  office  was  abolished  by  the 
ne^  Constitution.  Judge  Nesbit  was  the 
only  survivfng  member  of  the  St.  Andrew's 
Society,  who  took  part  in  its  formation  in 
the  year  1806,  and  for  twenty-seven  years 
previous  to  his  death  was  President  thereof. 
The  annual  dinner  of  the  Society,  which  was 
to  take  place  in  a  few  days,  has  been  indefi- 
nitely postponed,  and  the  members  will  take 
further  action  to  show  their  respect  for  the 
deceased.  On  the  aunouncementof  his  death, 
the  va'-ious  courts  yesterday  adjourned. 


